Commercial
Austin Business Journal
 April 13, 2005
AMD to build campus in SW AustinMary
Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal
| Chip manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will build a
825,000-square-foot campus on land Stratus Properties Inc. owns in Southwest Austin, AMD
said Wednesday. The decision means roughly 2,000 employees who don't work in
manufacturing will move to a new 60-acre campus in Southwest Austin, AMD spokesman Travis
Bullard says. Those employees now are spread out among eight buildings that are
concentrated in Southeast Austin and total roughly 492,000 square feet.
Beau Armstrong, president and CEO of Stratus, couldn't be reached for comment.
The location was chosen primarily due to its proximity to the majority of AMD's local
employees, size specifications of the new campus and existing infrastructure.
Approximately 58 percent of AMD's local employees live within a 10-mile radius of the
new location, at the corner of Southwest Parkway and William Cannon Drive. The move will
reduce employee commutes by more than 10,000 vehicle miles per day, according to AMD.
Construction on the new campus is set to begin in early 2006, with employees beginning
to move in early 2007. The campus is expected to be completed in mid-2007.
Austin-based Stratus Properties (Nasdaq: STRS) controls Lantana, a 500-acre, mixed-use
development off Southwest Parkway. More than 2 million square feet of office and retail
development is allowed there.
Fearing degradation to the land and water, environmental groups such the Save Our
Springs Alliance oppose AMD relocating to Lantana.
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Bullard says AMD (NYSE: AMD) and Stratus plan to commit $5 million to
finance the preservation of open space, ideally over the recharge zone of the Barton
Springs Edwards Aquifer. He says AMD pledges to meet water quality controls stipulated in
the SOS Ordinance and will build 20 percent below allowed impervious cover levels.
Although SOS opposes the move, Bullard says a number of other local neighborhood,
environmental and community leaders support AMD's decision.
"AMD is the kind of company we want in Oak Hill," says Bruce Perrin,
president of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, near the new campus site.
"Given that traffic is the number one issue
in Austin, having AMD locate near their employee base is a smart move.
Chairman of the Greater Economic Development Corp. Gary Farmer says: "AMD has the
ability to do this project right so that there is a balance between growth and protection
for the environment. I applaud them for their efforts."
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD employs about 3,000 employees in the Austin area.
The 1,000 employees who won't move to Lantana are part of AMD subsidiary Spansion LLC and will stay
at AMD's current campus in Southeast Austin off Ben White Boulevard. Spansion produces
flash memory chips used by the wireless, cellular, automotive, networking,
telecommunications and consumer electronics markets.
Email MARY ALICE KASPAR at (makaspar@bizjournals.com). |
