Silsbee’s Land Just Doubled, Housing Didn’t.
Land Up 113%. Multi-Family Down 9%. That’s the Signal.
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Last week’s EDO Roundup…
Creative 3D Technologies is moving HQ + manufacturing to Cedar Park | Dec 15, 2025
Cedar Park landed a solid advanced manufacturing win: Creative 3D is relocating into an ~18,000 sq ft site and aiming for 45 jobs over two years. The city’s using a performance-based package (job funding, sales tax rebates, and even a small relocation-home incentive) to make it stick.Temple has a $197M data center project in the pipeline | Dec 16, 2025
A state filing points to a 145,000 sq ft data center build in Temple priced around $197M, with a target completion of Sept. 30, 2026. The paperwork also lists Facebook (Meta) as the beneficial owner, which is the kind of signal markets watch closely.Texas Instruments starts production at its new Sherman 300mm fab | Dec 17, 2025
TI officially started production at its new Sherman wafer fab (SM1), a big milestone after breaking ground about 3.5 years ago. They’re framing Sherman as a long-run mega-site with $40B planned over time and “thousands” of jobs as the campus builds out.Denton moves forward on plans for a $280M Novartis gene therapy plant | Dec 17, 2025
Denton approved the local deal framework for a potential $280M Novartis Gene Therapies project, with city docs citing about 150 jobs and roughly 50,000 sq ft across multiple buildings. The package includes a reported $3.23M in tax abatements plus phased site improvements.T1 Energy starts building a $400M–$425M solar cell factory near Austin | Dec 17, 2025
T1 Energy kicked off construction on a $400M–$425M solar cell fab (Rockdale area) targeting 2.1 GW of annual capacity, aiming to come online in late 2026. They’re saying it could support up to 1,800 jobs, and it’s positioned to benefit from clean-tech manufacturing credits.Prairie View A&M gets a $1.98M Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant | Dec 18, 2025
The state awarded $1.98M to PVAMU to train talent for advanced microelectronics (focused on 3D heterogeneous integration). This is the kind of workforce investment that helps communities compete for suppliers and expansion projects tied to the Texas chip buildout.Fort Worth approves incentives for a $2.1B data center campus | Dec 18, 2025
Fort Worth ok’d a phased $2.1B data center campus deal with abatements tied to property and major business personal property investment. The agreement also sets job targets (reported 37 jobs at about $150K average salary) and runs out toward 2034.Westlake to close facilities and cut about 295 jobs | Dec 18, 2025
Tough one: Westlake says it’s closing certain facilities and reducing headcount by around 295 employees, with significant pre-tax costs tied to shutdowns and write-offs. It’s a reminder that “wins” and “risk” share the same map, and rapid-response planning matters.Union Pacific starts development on a 2,000-acre industrial park near Rosenberg | Dec 19, 2025
UP is moving on a 2,000-acre industrial park site between US 90 and SH 36 near Rosenberg, pitched as a build-to-suit with rail connectivity. That’s a big “logistics + industrial” bet in the Houston orbit, and it’ll influence how nearby communities position sites and infrastructure.Loloi announces new 1M+ sq ft distribution facility in Ennis with TEF support | Dec 19, 2025
Loloi is planning a multi-phase distribution build of more than 1 million sq ft in Ennis, tied to 380+ jobs and $20M in capex. The state backed it with a $2.451M Texas Enterprise Fund grant plus a $45K veteran job bonus.
Silsbee’s Land Just Doubled, Housing Didn’t
Issue 23
B.L.U.F. Silsbee’s story is not “small town, small economy.” The data says the town is being repriced in real time, especially on small commercial-scale land. In Hardin County Appraisal District’s 2024 report, the market value of vacant land parcels under 5 acres jumped 113.38% from $152.1M (2023) to $324.6M (2024).
At the same time, multi-family value fell 9.23% year over year. In a market where land is getting bid up, that drop usually points to aging product and a housing gap, not a lack of demand. The near-term move is simple: turn the land repricing into a predictable pipeline for modern housing and corridor retail, without breaking service capacity, especially as the city works through unknown service line materials under EPA rules.
City Financial Profile
Silsbee’s newest public notices show a city adjusting its tax structure while property values move up.
Proposed property tax rate: $0.463461 per $100 of value, up from $0.449171, a 3.18% increase.
Total tax levy: $2,075,714, up from $1,934,248, a 7.31% increase.
Average homestead taxable value: $130,487, up 9.21% from $119,480.
Average homestead tax bill: $604.67, up 12.69% from $536.34.
Takeaway: Silsbee’s tax base is rising, and the city is capturing that lift through both rate and value. The tighter operational question is not “can we grow,” it is “can we keep up with utility compliance and service capacity while the market heats up.”
Economic Drivers
Silsbee’s core advantage is that it already has real anchors, then it stacks retail capture on top of them.
Population and household baseline (local profile): Population 6,735, median household income $33,550, median home value $103,581.
Student base: 2,787 students enrolled in Silsbee School District, per the local profile.
Automotive draw: The Silsbee EDC positions the city as “The Car Trading Capital of Southeast Texas,” and lists a dense set of dealerships that function like a regional retail cluster.
Industrial manufacturing: Dragon Products is described as a U.S., family-owned manufacturer serving energy and industrial markets, operating for more than 50 years.
Specialty petrochemical: South Hampton Resources is described as operating since 1955 as a specialty petrochemical processor.
Wood and packaging: Acme Skid and Wooden Pallets are positioned as Gulf Coast-serving manufacturers, which ties Silsbee to the broader industrial corridor demand.
Rail and logistics signal: BNSF is highlighted as a named logistics player tied to the local industry narrative.
Takeaway: Silsbee is not trying to “become” industrial, it already is. The next leg is making the city work better for the people who already earn here, so housing and retail stop lagging the employment base.
Business Climate and Growth Indicators
Silsbee’s cleanest signal right now is not a press release, it is where the appraisal roll is moving.
Small-parcel land repricing: Vacant land under 5 acres went from $152.1M (2023) to $324.6M (2024), up 113.38%.
Multi-family soft spot: Multi-family value dropped from $120.0M (2023) to $108.9M (2024), down 9.23%.
Why that combo matters: When land spikes but multi-family drops, it often means the market is paying up for new sites while older rental stock is falling behind.
Regional access (as stated locally): The Silsbee EDC states Silsbee is 26 miles from Beaumont and the Port of Beaumont, and 26 miles to I-10.
Takeaway: The market is pricing Silsbee like a place that is about to build. If the city wants to stay ahead of that curve, the job is to convert land demand into “ready-to-go” projects, especially workforce housing, before costs outrun feasibility.
Opportunity Gaps
Silsbee’s opportunity set is straightforward: land is getting more expensive, older housing is losing value, and the city’s anchors already bring regional traffic.
Opportunity 1: Small-Format Corridor Retail
Market Opportunity: Use the existing dealership-driven traffic pattern to support modern, small-format retail nodes near the main commercial corridors.
Need / Gap: Small-parcel land is being repriced fast, so site control and shovel-ready parcels become the bottleneck.
Opportunity 2: Workforce Multi-Family Reset
Market Opportunity: Deliver modern apartments or townhome-style rentals that fit workforce budgets and expectations.
Need / Gap: Multi-family value fell 9.23% even as land surged, a sign the existing rental product is aging and needs replacement, not minor rehab.
Opportunity 3: Industrial Support Services
Market Opportunity: Build local vendors that serve the industrial base, including fabrication support, parts, and shop services.
Need / Gap: The city’s industrial employers are real and long-tenured, but support capacity has to keep pace as the area grows and compliance needs expand, including utility inventory and service line work.
Takeaway: These are not moonshot bets. They are “catch-up” investments that help Silsbee convert an industrial and retail base into a stickier place to live, which is what makes growth durable.
Closing Insight
Silsbee’s most important signal is that the market is already moving ahead of the city’s visible development pipeline. Land under 5 acres does not double by accident, it moves when buyers believe projects are coming. The practical next step is to treat housing and corridor retail as infrastructure, then run them with the same discipline as utilities, predictable sites, clear entitlements, and a tight list of projects that can actually start.
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