'It's jarring': Google's $40 billion data center investment to transform Texas town

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]But we want to make sure that the town is better off for it, not just you know, not just chewed up and spit out by the boom so to speak. There are people that are construction supervisors that are bought houses in town because they said well I'm going to be here 5 years at least and so might as well stay. So we expect that um that if it lasts 5 years great, we're going to benefit from that. But if it all dries up tomorrow, we're not going to be putting a bond in any way that would you know, jeopardize the prosperity of our citizens because we're taking this money that we are receiving and finding ways to make one-time improvements to our streets, our water, our sewer, our parks, all of those things that we need. Those one-time investments will last us for 10, 15, 50 years.

[00:00:39]>> Decker highlights the first significant uptick in home building since the 1980s coupled with rezoning efforts as rising rent pressures signal broader constraints across the region.

[00:00:49]>> To my knowledge it's the first time we've had multiple houses being built in the city limits at the same time since the 80s.

[00:00:54]Uh but we just recently did some rezoning um in an area of town that we had cleaned up houses and torn them down to build some triplexes. So they will be you know, rentals for multiple families.

[00:01:05]>> While growth brings new opportunities, it also presents significant challenges for a city of approximately 3,000 people. growth while preserving the long-time identity and culture that residents value?

[00:01:18]>> Ultimately, if our communities are going to thrive, we've got to have new investment, new growth. We can't just wither away on the vines.