AllianceTexas’ Success Nears $34 Billion

This week’s economic impact report on AllianceTexas shows a staggering overall impact total: $33.8 billion on North Texas communities. One of the most successful public-private partnerships in the United States, AllianceTexas has been in a vital economic engine for 20 years.

Approximately $100 million of combined initial investment from the city of Fort Worth, the state of Texas and the Federal Aviation Administration in AllianceTexas has yielded $6.5 billion in private investment, 29,000 jobs and more than $625.4 million in property taxes.

The $625.4 million in property taxes from AllianceTexas since 1990 has been paid to the three cities (Fort Worth, Haslet, Roanoke), two counties (Denton, Tarrant) and two school districts (Northwest, Keller) that it falls within. That number has grown significantly from the $223,000 in property taxes generated from the same area in 1990. AllianceTexas also falls within the town of Westlake, but that community does not have a municipal property tax.

From 1990-2007, AllianceTexas companies and Hillwood-related entities along Interstate 35W have paid more than $625.4 million in property taxes, including $88 million in 2007.

The companies of AllianceTexas now employ more than 29,000 workers, including 1,900 new jobs added in the past year. New companies and expansion by existing companies have accounted for the employment increase.

Daimler Financial Services Americas moved more than 500 employees into its new 160,000-square-foot office building in September. In June, Deloitte purchased 107 acres at Circle T Ranch to build a learning and leadership development center that will employ approximately 450 workers. DynCorp International expanded into 75,344 square feet in the Heritage Commons II building and now has approximately 800 employees at AllianceTexas.

On the industrial side, Cinram, which is the logistics provider for Motorola cell phones, has begun to move into its 788,000-square-foot distribution center at AllianceTexas. ENTECH, which is a leading provider of advanced solar energy technology, moved into 71,250 square feet in the Gateway 23 building, which is part of the 5-building, 1.8-million-square-foot speculative building program that Hillwood completed at Alliance in 2008.

Also in 2008, the next phase of Alliance Town Center opened. New retailers in the project include Belk Department Stores, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty, Sport Clips, RackRoom Shoes, Dress Barn, Justice Just for Girls, Rue21, EyeMasters, Mattress Firm, Which Wich, Jason’s Deli and Smoothie King. The 168,000-square-foot Sam Moon outlet is under construction and set to open in spring 2009.

Hillwood also opened its first multifamily project in AllianceTexas in 2008. The first phase of 288 units was completed in Monterra Village, which is the first 100% smoke-free apartment home community in North Texas.

In addition to the Sam Moon complex, projects currently under construction in AllianceTexas include the 50,000-square-foot expansion office building for Galderma, the 220,000-square-foot data center for Health Care Services Corp, and the 600,000-square-foot expansion office building for Fidelity Investments at its Circle T Ranch campus.

AllianceTexas consists of the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, Circle T Ranch, Heritage, Alliance Town Center, Saratoga and Monterra Village. The study also took into account the economic impact of the residential community of Park Glen, which Hillwood developed in the 1990s. AllianceTexas now houses 200 companies, including 65 from either the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes list of Top Private Firms. These companies have built 29.2 million square feet and created 29,000 jobs.