Balcones to Develop Green Business Park

Balcones Recycling has entered into an agreement to purchase 125 acres in East Austin, Texas, that it plans to develop as Environomics Park. The company will occupy 15 to 20 acres of the land with a $7 million office and recycling plant complex.

The company’s plans call for a campus that will include a 120,000 square feet of offices for its headquarters and commercial recycling operation, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008. Balcones also expects to incorporate automated equipment to handle recyclables collected in residential programs.

In announcing the agreement, Kerry Getter, CEO of Balcones Recycling, says the initial buildings will occupy 15 to 20 acres of the overall property and accommodate the company’s future growth needs. They also will be comply with the city’s standards for environmental development.

“Our vision is to create a business environment like no other in the country, where like-minded companies can grow and flourish,” says Getter. “We also want to address specific elements of the newly adopted Climate Protection Plan. Balcones hopes to attract businesses that focus on alternative energy research and development, green energy use, clean and sustainable recycling initiatives and embrace Green Building principles.”

The investment for the land, building and additional equipment is expected to be in the $7 million range, Getter said. Ground breaking is scheduled for the fall of 2007, he added. Stream Realty Partners, Dallas, will assist with marketing and site planning.

The new facility will allow the company to load eight to 10 rail cars per day for shipment to end users. “We are the largest rail shipper in the city limits,” Getter says. “The new site will allow us to create some efficiencies for both inbound traffic and outbound rail shipments, including shipments for export.”

Balcones Recycling processes 10,000 to 12,000 tons per month of recycled paper, the equivalent of the chips from nearly two million trees per year. Paper and plastics are shipped to consuming destinations in the United States, Mexico, Central America and Asia.

 “For a private corporate citizen to step up and make this kind of commitment to clean energy is significant and very important to Austin,” says Lara Valentine, director of economic development for clean energy at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “We are excited to be able to market this as an enhanced feature for attracting other clean energy companies to the city.”

The Chamber’s public-private partnership, Opportunity Austin, receives and pursues interest from clean-energy companies. “For us to be able to say there’s land or a park with like-minded businesses is a coup for Austin,” Valentine adds.

Balcones Recycling also has operations in Dallas and Little Rock, Ark. In Little Rock, the company manufactures more than 2,000 tons of alternative fuel per month for the commercial generation of electricity. Getter says a future development phase for Environomics Park in Austin would be to replicate the 25,000-square-foot processing facility in Little Rock. The fuel cubes generated by the facility generated 184.63 million kilowatt hours per hour per year, or the amount of energy to power the equivalent of 17,327 average-sized U.S. homes, Getter says.

Those seeking more information on Balcones Recycling can go the company’s Web site at www.balconesresources.com.