SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council will vote Thursday on $142.8 million worth of city and utility incentives meant to tempt Toyota into building a new $2 billion vehicle assembly line at its South Side plant.
In return, the company hopes to bring in thousands of well-paying jobs.
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Toyota, which opened its South Side plant where it currently assembles the Tundra and Sequoia in 2006, is deciding where to place a new vehicle assembly line in a “highly competitive” selection process.
The company has not said what model the new line would produce or what other locations it’s considering, but San Antonio is trying to ensure the new line comes here.
The city’s $122.1 million worth of proposed incentives include:
- A 10-year property tax break worth an estimated $88.1 million
- Road and intersection improvements with $24.5 million of city money
- Worker training grants worth up to $9 million
- City fee waivers worth up to $500,000
The city council will also decide on recommending the manufacturer for another $20.7 million worth of help from the city’s power and water utilities through $4.5 million worth of San Antonio Water System fee waivers and a CPS Energy program that could reduce the company’s electric rates, worth $16.2 million.
As part of the deal, Toyota would create 2,000 full-time jobs, earning at least the county’s average annual wage — currently $32.46 per hour.
San Antonio’s not the only one flashing cash at Toyota in an attempt to bring an expansion to the South Side.
Bexar County is scheduled to discuss its own 10-year, $55.3 million tax break proposal next week, and Southwest Independent School District has indicated its support for a break of its portion of Toyota’s property tax bill.
San Antonio is also expected to nominate Toyota for a Texas Enterprise Zone (TEZ) “Triple Jumbo” project, which could allow it to get up to $3.75 million worth of state sales and use tax refunded.