Apple to expand Texas presence with new $304M campus

Apple is planning a new $304 million campus in Austin. Rick Perry, Texas governor and failed Republican presidential candidate, announced the news today, just in time for Austin’s annual festival of Mac-lovin’ nerds, SXSW. The location will handle customer support, accounting, and sales for the company.

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This kicks off a week of SXSW announcements that are soon to be flowing out of Austin, Texas. Perry’s statement said the Apple project would add 3,600 jobs in Austin, where Apple already has a large headquarters with an existing staff of about 3,500. The Texas Enterprise Fund, a state program for creating jobs and encouraging businesses in Texas, will kick in $21 million over the next decade for the project. It’s the largest amount the fund has sunk into a single company since it started in 2003.

“Investments like this further Texas’ potential to become the nation’s next high-tech hub,” said Perry in a statement.

A hipster-rich college town, Austin has a prime and growing pool of tech-job applicants. Home to the University of Texas, the city has a population of almost 700,000 with a median age of 30. A growing tech spot, Austin is sometimes called the “Silicon Hills” (every entrepreneur-town needs a catchy nickname).

Texas image via ShutterStock