Speculation on land near future semiconductor chip factories in Grayson County is increasing, with buyers flocking in droves to take advantage of the area’s promising prospects.
But it wasn’t always like that. Commercial development in the county’s Sherman and Denison area has been stagnant for years, said John St. Clair, managing director of Younger Partners, who has brokered deals in the area for 30 years. In Grayson County, he said, an hour north of Dallas, investors were buying land but few projects were going vertical.
Now that is changing.
Provided by Texas Instruments
Construction began on TI’s chip factory in Sherman in December 2022.
The county’s power dynamics were upended when Texas Instruments and Globitech announced they would invest billions of dollars to build a chip manufacturing plant in Sherman.
St. Clair said the field is moving from an investor market to a user developer market.
“They landed a chip factory, so Sherman and Dennison woke up,” he said. “This is the place to be in the future.”
Developers have begun breaking ground on thousands of new homes in Grayson County after pandemic-induced lockdowns and increased remote work pushed city dwellers further north. Since the chip’s announcement, a new group of investors has emerged looking to acquire land that could be developed by industrial suppliers to TI and GlobiTech.
Just last week, Younger Partners brokered the sale of a 76-acre parcel in Denison. The buyer, Investment Catalysts of Southlake, bought the property because of its proximity to a chip factory, St. Clair said.
“From the day it came on the market, there was a lot of interest,” said Davis Willoughby, an associate at Young Partners. “We have received at least two offers that are very close to our expectations from prominent groups who are also looking to purchase strategic land.”
Tony Kaay, chairman of the Denison Development Alliance, said the TI and Globitec announcements have sparked a flurry of land speculation in Denison. Dozens of investors are pouring money into the area, knowing the county is on the precipice of unprecedented growth.
“These land developers are very astute and far ahead of the curve,” he says. “They know what’s going to happen before we do.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Denison’s population grew by approximately 16% between 2010 and 2022. According to city projections, an estimated 26,800 people currently live in the city, a number that could more than double by 2050.
Courtesy of Tony Kaai
Denison is located more than 120 miles north of Dallas.
Sales tax revenue has also increased in tandem, increasing by 44% since 2018. This is primarily due to the surge in e-commerce that occurred during the pandemic. At the same time, thousands of new residents moved to Denison, further expanding the sales tax base that provided the funds DDA needed to guide economic development.
“The economy was really strong and everything was going well,” Kaai said. “Then coronavirus hit, and as soon as we started recovering from coronavirus, we saw a developer gold rush.”
To prepare for growth, the city updated its comprehensive plan, adopted a new zoning map, issued multiple bonds to fund new schools and infrastructure, and partnered with the Army Corps of Engineers to increase pressure on Lake Texoma. A new water intake structure was constructed to alleviate the problem. About local water supply.
For its part, Kaai is working to position Denison’s three city-owned industrial parks as home to the semiconductor supplier industry. The alliance is partnering with VanTrust Real Estate to build his 210,000 SF spec building ready to move in when tenants inevitably come along.
“It’s a very hot market,” he said. “We’re just trying to manage it professionally and make sure we get the right deals done that contribute to the smart growth of the city.”
St. Clair and Willoughby said Younger Partners owns other properties in the area and is ripe for interest in those parcels. The chip plant is projected to bring thousands of new jobs and economic prosperity to Grayson County, ushering in a new era of development that will spur investment for decades to come.
“The market has arrived,” Willoughby said.
