Something huge is coming to the former Alcoa property, now called Sandow Lakes Ranch (SLR), and the CEO of SLR, Randall Kendrick, has announced the first project. (See letter to the editor on page 4A.)
A world-class Advanced Manufacturing & Logistics Campus (AMLC) will be built on FM 1786 next to the highway and five-mile-long former Sandow & Southern rail line. Clearing of the land started a few weeks ago.
The campus is a manufacturing and distribution hub with most of the buildings being over one million square feet, with total building space of up to 50 million square feet.
The AMLC will span over 3,300 acres (over five square miles) which is one-tenth of SLR’s 33,000 acres. The campus is expected to be ready by mid-2025 and initial construction will provide “hundreds of construction jobs,” according to Kendrick. SLR bought the former Alcoa property in 2021 and spent the next year working with land planners and designers to create a comprehensive plan for the entire 50 square miles in both Milam and Lee counties.
“The plans include development and construction of various residential, retail, commercial, industrial, hospitalities, hamlets and recreation facilities,” Kendrick said.
He added that, “SLR could take a few decades to fully build out, but it is expected to exist in perpetuity. We are just beginning to tell the story of SLR, but there will be more to tell in the coming weeks and months. Our intention is to create a megasite for innovation and a place for reshoring of American industry that previously moved abroad.”
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