Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read February 2023 — As billions of dollars in investment flow into North Texas, the City of Sherman has updated its zoning to prepare for the expected growth and economic expansion.
Many of those dollars are coming from the light and advanced manufacturing space as well as a banner 2022 for both the city and wider market. Sherman is expecting $35 billion in facilities construction and development with two large semiconductor manufacturers developing in the city. The two companies – GlobiTech with its $5 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant and Texas Instruments with a whopping $30 billion, four-factory fabrication site for wafers, has Sherman poised for immense growth over the coming years. The zoning update is the latest change made to balance the immense growth with responsible management outlined in the City’s comprehensive plan, which begins by highlighting TI’s new plant.
“In May 2022, Texas Instruments broke ground on a $30 billion silicon chip factory in southern Sherman. This factory is estimated to create around 3,000 new jobs and once completed, the 4.7 million-square-foot plant will be the largest electronics production facility in Texas. By starting now, this plan will help to better set up Sherman to keep pace with growth and increased demand for services and housing,” the plan states.
The updated city zoning plan reflects new district classifications and the changes made over the last few months in a number of different properties. The zoning map was adopted Feb. 6, and replaces the map adopted around the same time last year.
The city also passed an ordinance alongside the updated zoning map setting a $2,000 per day penalty for any construction that is not in conformity with the map’s permissible uses.
The investments happening in Sherman and across the North Texas market are driven in large part as a response to the disrupted supply chains of the pandemic era and, more recently, the billions of dollars the U.S. is spending at the federal level driven by the CHIPS Act to reshore strategic industries as competition continues to ramp up with China. A number of different firms have announced plans to expand or build new facilities across the North Texas market, with 163 firms involved in the semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing space across the region, noted the Dallas Business Journal, demonstrating that Sherman was the latest of many beneficiaries in North Texas’ growing market.
Some of those developments include the recently approved studio development in Mansfield, with an expected 2,000 jobs on the way. Caterpillar made waves when it announced its move from Illinois to Irving. Goldman Sachs plans on hosting 5,000 employees in its Victory Park tower. MP Materials started construction on a rare-earth magnetics and materials manufacturing facility at Alliance, while Sachse has Canadian Evolve Biologics new manufacturing facility.
“The North Texas region is defined in the areas of trade, transportation, professional services, education, health care, financial services, manufacturing, and energy. We are also quickly becoming known as a technology hub. Companies choose to move, stay, and expand in North Texas due to our safe, diversified economy; growing, skilled labor force; our reasonable regulatory climate; rational tax system; easy accessibility; and how we embrace innovation, ”explained Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission in his interview for Invest: Dallas 2022-2023.
For Sherman specifically, TI’s investment represents a commitment to the market and the community, said Rich Templeton, TI’s chairman, president and CEO. “TI’s future analog and embedded processing 300-mm fabs at the Sherman site are part of our long-term capacity planning to continue to strengthen our manufacturing and technology competitive advantage and support our customers’ demand in the coming decades,” said Templeton in a press release when the plant was announced in 2021. “Our commitment to North Texas spans more than 90 years, and this decision is a testament to our strong partnership and investment in the Sherman community.”
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