A Dallas-based company is slated to build a large cryptocurrency mining development in Corpus Christi.
The project will span over 114 acres along McKinzie Road near the intersection of State Highway 44. According to city documents, Bootstrap Energy LLC made a cash purchase of the land in February.
The company plans to invest $130.5 million in improvements to the property that will house $1 billion worth of computers, according to city documents.
The land consists of two tracts, 33.5 acres, which will be phase one of the development, and 75.6 acres, which will be the second phase.
During its regular meeting Tuesday, City Council unanimously approved to disannex the larger tract from the city limits and include it in the Industrial District No. 2, which is where the 33.5 acres was already located. Council also approved an industrial district agreement with Bootstrap Energy.
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When the project is developed, it’s expected bring in about $31.7 million of property tax revenue to the city over 10 years. Bootstrap Energy expects to finish the development by the end of this year.
The property is now farm land and brings in $218 of property tax revenue a year.
However, by disannexing the land, the city forwent $70.5 million over a 10-year period it could have received if the same development was in the city limits, according to city documents.
Dist. 3 Councilman Roland Barrera said the deal was a win for the city as the property is hard to develop. The land has many pipelines from the nearby LyondellBasell facility.
“With that being the case, to have somebody put $1.1 billion of investment in that area is just highly, highly unlikely,” Barrera said. “It invites the tech sector now to come invest in Corpus Christi.”
City officials say the site is attractive because it’s one of the most robust locations on the Texas power grid with high historical reliability.
About the project
Bootstrap Energy will build a 300-megawatt substation for the first phase and a 250- to 300-megawatt substation for the second phase. The company has secured with American Electric Power the necessary megawatts for the project.
A different company, Compute North, will build and own about 150 containers spanning the 33.5 acres of phase one. The containers will look like shipping containers and will house computers owned by the company’s cryptocurrency mining clients.
Bootstrap Energy has plans to lease out the phase two acreage of 75.6 acres to an unnamed company that will also build and own mining containers.
The development is expected to bring roughly 70 new jobs with an average yearly wage of about $50,000.
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Pushback
John Weber, a Corpus Christi investor, reached out to City Council members via email before they took a vote. He brought up concerns of electronic waste and whether the development’s electricity usage would increase local electric rates.
Council members brought up some of the issues to Bootstrap Energy officials and city staff.
Bootstrap Energy officials said there would not be a large amount of electronic waste, as their computers would be high performing and last several years. They said the computers would be sent to another data center for use or disposed of properly.
In the event of a power emergency, the development will participate in Electric Reliability Council of Texas curtailment programs so it doesn’t impact the electric grid, according to city documents.
Kathryn Cargo follows business openings and developments while reporting on impacts of the city government’s decisions.See our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe.