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11/05/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2026 10:23
Blue Origin signs 1.3M SF lease at the Hutto Crossing, Austin
Hutto Crossing and Blue Origin
After a decade of missing out on Tesla Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp., among others, Hutto economic development director Cheney Gamboa acknowledged there's a sense of relief in landing Blue Origin Enterprises LP.
"It's no secret that Hutto has been in the finals for so many big projects. It feels really good to win this one and bring it home," Gamboa said.
Jeff Bezos' space company made official earlier this month what's been in the works for the last year: Blue Origin is headed to Hutto, where it plans to invest a minimum of $550 million and create at least 2,000 jobs in a 1.3 million-square-foot manufacturing facility it's calling "Constellation Park." The company - which recently disclosed a pre-money valuation of $130 billion - is already moving into two buildings at Hutto Crossing at 148 Parker Way.
Now that it's public, those involved in courting Blue Origin pulled back the veil on how one of the country's largest companies ended up in Hutto. The deal represents one of the region's largest economic development wins of the last half-decade, alongside Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in nearby Taylor and Tesla in eastern Travis County. It started with a request for information codenamed "Project Blue Hub." It evolved into weekend calls, in-person site visits and incentives talks that sealed the deal over competition from Alabama and Florida.
It ultimately means the most for Hutto, a city that until now was best known for its hippo mascot. Blue Origin is expected to quickly become the largest private-sector employer in the boomtown that has swelled to 43,000 people - up from 28,000 five years ago - about 35 miles northeast of Austin. City and regional leaders are brimming with excitement about what it means long-term - even if there's more traffic.
"People don't see a lot of what it takes to win a project like this," Gamboa said. "But I always reiterate to people that I live here, so I am only going to advocate for a project that I wholeheartedly think is good for this community for the long-term. I recognize concerns. I probably share a majority of them. But this is going to be really good for Hutto for a long, long time, and I'm excited to celebrate with the community various milestones that are yet to come with this project."
Representatives from Blue Origin declined an opportunity to elaborate on their selection of Hutto, pointing to a previous statement from CEO Dave Limp that "Texas has long understood what it takes to lead in space exploration." He said the company plans to tap into its "world-class talent." It already employs about 550 employees in West Texas.
Now that it's public, those involved in courting Blue Origin pulled back the veil on how one of the country's largest companies ended up in Hutto. The deal represents one of the region's largest economic development wins of the last half-decade, alongside Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in nearby Taylor and Tesla in eastern Travis County. It started with a request for information codenamed "Project Blue Hub." It evolved into weekend calls, in-person site visits and incentives talks that sealed the deal over competition from Alabama and Florida.
It ultimately means the most for Hutto, a city that until now was best known for its hippo mascot. Blue Origin is expected to quickly become the largest private-sector employer in the boomtown that has swelled to 43,000 people - up from 28,000 five years ago - about 35 miles northeast of Austin. City and regional leaders are brimming with excitement about what it means long-term - even if there's more traffic.
"People don't see a lot of what it takes to win a project like this," Gamboa said. "But I always reiterate to people that I live here, so I am only going to advocate for a project that I wholeheartedly think is good for this community for the long-term. I recognize concerns. I probably share a majority of them. But this is going to be really good for Hutto for a long, long time, and I'm excited to celebrate with the community various milestones that are yet to come with this project."
Representatives from Blue Origin declined an opportunity to elaborate on their selection of Hutto, pointing to a previous statement from CEO Dave Limp that "Texas has long understood what it takes to lead in space exploration." He said the company plans to tap into its "world-class talent." It already employs about 550 employees in West Texas.
Hutto heard from Blue Origin for the first time in early spring through Opportunity Austin's vice president of economic development Bob Farley, who served as the project's manager. Farley called it "especially meaningful" because he preceded Gamboa as Hutto's economic development director. It was also his last big project before he retires.
Blue Origin's point of contact was Summer Webb, who leads the company's government relations team in Texas. Webb also serves as the mayor of Valentine, home to about 70 people near Blue Origin's operations in West Texas, where the company has been for two decades. That provided a "unique perspective to economic development and the site selection process," Gamboa said.
"She's been phenomenal to work with - as has been the rest of the team. They have been organized, they have been professional, they are efficient. It has been a wonderful experience and I'm so excited to have them as a community partner and welcome them officially to Hutto," Gamboa said.
Gamboa said "it was all hands on deck" from the first contact. They met quick turnaround timelines on requests about utilities like power and water, and affirmed the company's workforce data. That often included late-night text messages and weekend Microsoft Teams calls.
"It's a very, very responsive team and we wanted to match that. We always try to follow their lead and we never wanted it to be something that they were waiting on us," Gamboa said.
The reality is there was a lot of silence in between. She said they used those times to check in and cultivate a budding relationship.
Blue Origin first visited Hutto in April on three days notice. Gamboa lined up visits with police, fire and emergency management services, K-12 and higher education partners, business leaders and even adjacent communities. Blue Origin, which was led in the Texas search by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s Zane Cole, also looked in southeast Austin and the Dallas area.
One other group that participated was the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation. Its former board president attended the initial site visit and wrote a letter of support reflecting what officials called "the value of regional collaboration."
"We congratulate Hutto on this achievement and look forward to the opportunities it creates to strengthen the aerospace and commercial space ecosystems in Williamson County and the greater Austin area," Arthur Jackson, a member of the CTSDC board and Cedar Park's Chief Economic Development Officer, said in an email.
Farley said he's seen firsthand how Hutto has grown and the work that went into building that foundation. Courting Blue Origin provided a special experience that ultimately became what he called "the highlight of my career." That was largely due to the collaboration between all public and private entities.
"Economic development is a long game," Farley said. "You spend years building relationships, strengthening communities and positioning a region to compete for opportunities that can change its trajectory. To see all of that come together in a project of this scale, in a community that means so much to me, is incredibly rewarding. As I prepare to retire, I can't imagine a better project to close out my career with."
Blue Origin first visited Hutto in April on three days notice. Gamboa lined up visits with police, fire and emergency management services, K-12 and higher education partners, business leaders and even adjacent communities. Blue Origin, which was led in the Texas search by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s Zane Cole, also looked in southeast Austin and the Dallas area.
One other group that participated was the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation. Its former board president attended the initial site visit and wrote a letter of support reflecting what officials called "the value of regional collaboration."
"We congratulate Hutto on this achievement and look forward to the opportunities it creates to strengthen the aerospace and commercial space ecosystems in Williamson County and the greater Austin area," Arthur Jackson, a member of the CTSDC board and Cedar Park's Chief Economic Development Officer, said in an email.
Farley said he's seen firsthand how Hutto has grown and the work that went into building that foundation. Courting Blue Origin provided a special experience that ultimately became what he called "the highlight of my career." That was largely due to the collaboration between all public and private entities.
"Economic development is a long game," Farley said. "You spend years building relationships, strengthening communities and positioning a region to compete for opportunities that can change its trajectory. To see all of that come together in a project of this scale, in a community that means so much to me, is incredibly rewarding. As I prepare to retire, I can't imagine a better project to close out my career with."
Blue Origin first visited Hutto in April on three days notice. Gamboa lined up visits with police, fire and emergency management services, K-12 and higher education partners, business leaders and even adjacent communities. Blue Origin, which was led in the Texas search by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s Zane Cole, also looked in southeast Austin and the Dallas area.
One other group that participated was the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation. Its former board president attended the initial site visit and wrote a letter of support reflecting what officials called "the value of regional collaboration."
"We congratulate Hutto on this achievement and look forward to the opportunities it creates to strengthen the aerospace and commercial space ecosystems in Williamson County and the greater Austin area," Arthur Jackson, a member of the CTSDC board and Cedar Park's Chief Economic Development Officer, said in an email.
Farley said he's seen firsthand how Hutto has grown and the work that went into building that foundation. Courting Blue Origin provided a special experience that ultimately became what he called "the highlight of my career." That was largely due to the collaboration between all public and private entities.
"Economic development is a long game," Farley said. "You spend years building relationships, strengthening communities and positioning a region to compete for opportunities that can change its trajectory. To see all of that come together in a project of this scale, in a community that means so much to me, is incredibly rewarding. As I prepare to retire, I can't imagine a better project to close out my career with."
How Texas beat out Alabama, Florida for huge Blue Origin project - Austin Business Journal
Mbk Real Estate Ltd published this content on November 05, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 05, 2026 at 16:23 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]