Area builder finds new regional home in Pflugerville

After working on about 400,000 square feet of projects in the city, MW Builders contracting company broke ground Thursday on its own Pflugerville facility.

The nationally recognized general contractor founded in Missouri broke ground Thursday on its new and expanded regional headquarters and will make the move from Temple to Pflugerville’s 130 Commerce Center.

Amy Madison, Pflugerville Community Development Corporation executive director, has said the Temple-based contractor has about 400,000 square feet of projects built or under construction in Pflugerville.

The company built the $33 million FedEx Ground facility and the 120,000-square-foot Cortec Precision Sheetmetal Inc. facility across the street from MW Builders’ planned location.

“So the only thing I’ve got to say about MW Builders is: ‘What took you so long to figure it out that you needed to make this your home?’” Madison jokingly said at the groundbreaking.

The city’s agreement with MW Builders to build its regional headquarters at the southwest corner of Texas 130 and Pecan Street received Pflugerville City Council approval in March.

MW Builders closed on a 1.5-acre tract of land in January from the PCDC, an economic arm of the city that receives funding through a portion of city sales tax revenue. The company said the land will host a 20,000-square-foot, two-story office building.

Jason Oldham, vice president of operations with MW Builders, said although the decision was incentive based, “the true incentive for our relocation is our people.”

“For many of us this has been the only company we’ve ever worked for, but we owe it to all our employees to provide them with an environment they can grow and excel in,” he said. “We believe Pflugerville is that place.”

MW Builders is set to hire 30 full-time employees in the first year of the five-year agreement, Madison has said.

As part of the incentive package, the company must make a $4.8 million capital investment in the new facility and maintain at least 30 employees with an average salary of $86,000 plus health care benefits for a minimum of five years.

If those standards are met, the PCDC will provide an annual $25,000 relocation grant for three years, officials said.

The groundbreaking is the second at 130 Commerce Center in a week with Flooring Services Southwest holding its own event June 5.

Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales said he remembers when there was “nothing out here” in the area now known as the 130 Commerce Center 10 years ago when he was first elected to the City Council.

“Coming out here (now) and looking at the land that’s left to build on — there’s not much of it left,” he said.

Nicole Barrios, Austin Community Newspapers Staff, 6/9/17, statesman.com