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Central Texas' tech hub prowess continues to grow as yet another industry giant is developing the region's latest data center, mere miles from the Texas capital.

Global data center EdgeConneX is home to more than 80 data centers across four continents and over 20 countries, but its sights have now been set on the Lone Star State. The Virginia-based company is on deck to develop a $440 million data center facility in Cedar Creek within Bastrop County, according to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation registered in July.

That facility will encompass two stories and 578,000 square feet, according to the TDLR filing. The project is on set for a June 2026 completion, based on preliminary timelines.

Online, company officials heralded the Austin area as a "welcoming climate" for data center technology. Officials said the 130-acre site under development will tease up future expansion opportunities and "provide multi-cloud access solutions and direct access to leading networks."

"Austin is a rapidly growing city in mid-Texas with a strong tech sector and a welcoming climate for tech professionals nationwide and beyond," company leaders wrote online. "Although the data center market is just beginning to grow, the city’s rich interconnection and cloud options make it an ideal location to establish a presence, with easy access to large Texan metro areas."

It'll mark the first of four buildings being constructed as part of the campus development, amounting to a roughly $1.4 billion investment, the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation confirmed in October. It also signifies the latest advancement in the county's ballooning tech footprint, supplementing the emerging industry already well underway courtesy Elon Musk.

The world's richest man has transformed Central Texas into a hotbed for his various companies, notably the Giga Texas factory in Austin. However, the city of Bastrop has become its own mini Musk oasis via Hyperloop Plaza, home to headquarters or satellite locations for X, SpaceX, Starlink and the Boring Company.

"Bastrop County is becoming an increasingly recognizable community in Texas due to strategic growth, long-term development and emerging industries, such as manufacturing, technology, and film production," the Bastrop EDC said in the fall. "As development accelerates, local leaders are dedicated to guiding the process every step of the way, leading to an exciting new economic chapter for the region."

Find it: 6752 FM535, Cedar Creek, TX 78612

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has slapped Darling Ingredients, the operator of a Bastrop animal byproduct rendering facility, with a notice of enforcement for seven alleged violations related to wastewater flowing into a creek, nuisance odors, equipment operation failures and record-keeping lapses.

Darling Ingredients’ facility turns animal byproducts, including chicken feathers and blood, into pet and livestock feed. It also repurposes used cooking oil from local restaurants into raw ingredients used to make renewable fuel. The company has told KXAN it wants to be a “good neighbor” and is spending millions to address the odor and facility issues.

That recycling process, however, has raised a stink. Neighbors in the path of odors from the plant – some as far as 10 miles to the north and south – have described the smells as fecal, death-like and similar to “burning wet feathers.”

TCEQ Investigation Reports On DemandDownload

The TCEQ’s “notice of enforcement” could lead to thousands of dollars in fines. Residents hope state-level enforcement could bolster their effort to end foul odors that have prompted hundreds of complaints against the Bastrop facility in recent years. Locals have also banded together to speak out at public TCEQ meetings and online through an ad hoc website and social media.

Kathryn Guerra, Public Citizen’s TCEQ campaign director, has assisted with the effort to hold Darling accountable for the Bastrop facility’s past environmental violations and recent alleged ones. She previously worked in compliance assistance at TCEQ and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Justice Division.

“The grassroots campaign that these neighbors have started is out of necessity because neither the TCEQ or Darling are acting in, you know, responsible and proactive and protective ways,” Guerra told KXAN. The local community members are “absolutely resolved that they are not going to stop, or let this issue go, until Darling and the TCEQ resolve it.”

Editor’s Note: The above video is KXAN’s coverage from Nov. 5, 2025.

Elgin resident Corbett Jones has been at the forefront of the “grassroots” effort to spotlight Darling Ingredients’ proliferating odors. He’s lived in Elgin for five years. For the first few years, he caught some intermittent foul smells, but they weren’t frequent enough to bother him, he said. That changed in the past couple of years.

The smells have become far more frequent and, at times, “unbearable,” he said.

Corbett and others created the Stop the Stink Bastrop website, which links to the TCEQ’s complaint submission page. It’s no coincidence there has been a marked increase in complaints against the facility – totaling nearly 200 so far this year, according to TCEQ’s records.

A spokesperson for Darling Ingredients told KXAN the company is “continuing to work on upgrades to our Bastrop facility, which will optimize performance for the benefit of the local community.”

“Complying with the law is a top priority for us, and we are committed to being a good neighbor. We encourage the community to visit www.darlingii.com/bastrop to easily report concerns and stay informed on our ongoing upgrade projects,” the company said in its statement.

As the number of complaints ballooned in the past two years, TCEQ travelled to the site and investigated multiple times.

On July 9, the environmental regulator approved an agreed order for Darling Ingredients with a $39,000 penalty for violations – including nuisance odors and excessive airborne hydrogen sulfide – dating back to July and October 2024. Hydrogen sulfide gas can be toxic to humans, causing eye irritation, dizziness and nausea, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More penalties could be on the way. TCEQ investigated the facility this summer and fall and issued a notice of enforcement last month detailing seven violations:

Darling Ingredients responded to the latest enforcement order, saying it is working with TCEQ and will “respond through the agency’s established process.”

“In the meantime, we are continuing to work on upgrades to our Bastrop facility, which will optimize performance for the benefit of the local community,” a company spokesperson said.

The TCEQ’s “established process” can take many months. The agency takes an average of about 350 days to process an enforcement case and get it approved by commissioners, according to the agency’s latest biennial report.

Guerra called that pace of enforcement a “big problem for the community.”

She was also critical of what she described as a TCEQ policy against issuing additional violations when a company is already under enforcement for the same violation.

“The fact that they give them a blanket exemption from being enforced upon for such a significant period of time is unfair to residents who are having to live with the consequences of those very weak enforcement policies,” Guerra said.

In response to KXAN’s questions, TCEQ said it has an active enforcement case against Darling, but it would not comment on pending litigation. The agency did not respond to Guerra’s comments about its enforcement process taking nearly a year, on average, or its policy against issuing additional violations against a company for the same problem while it is under enforcement.

Corbett wasn’t hopeful the TCEQ’s previous nearly $40,000 fine against the company would have much effect. He called it a “drop in the bucket” for a multi-billion-dollar corporation.

“They know how to control their smells. We are just asking that they do it here,” Corbett said. “None of us are eager to see Darling shut down or leave the area. We just feel they can operate and not pollute everywhere.”

AUSTIN, Texas - The state’s largest medical cannabis facility is now open in Bastrop.

Texas Original's new facility is nearly 10 times the size of their existing headquarters.

It all happens under one roof, from growing the plant to extracting the oils to testing and packaging. From seedling to store shelf, every step happens under one roof.

Texas Original's new facility

The backstory:

The 75,000 square foot facility handles cultivation, extraction, testing, packaging, and distribution all in one place.

"We have to do everything from growing the plant, so starting with a biological entity all the way through extraction, manufacturing, and then we test the product, and then it goes through distribution all under one roof," said Nico Richardson, CEO of Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation.

Texas Original CEO Nico Richardson says the facility on FM 969 can hold up to 20 times more capacity than its former South Austin location.

It includes a hybrid greenhouse for plant cultivation, manufacturing labs for extraction, processing and refining, testing labs, packaging, dispensing, distribution, and delivery logistics.

"This facility was really designed for a future state of Texas where we had much broader access to medical cannabis," said Richardson.

Dig deeper:

Its opening comes as Texas expands its Compassionate Use Program (CUP) after the passage of House Bill 46 during the regular session.

The passage broadens who can qualify and allows for more medical cannabis products.

"We have huge room to grow here. HB 46 will take us a long way towards realizing that growth. We’re now able to provide products that a lot of patients thought were missing from the program," said Richardson.

The TCUP program first began in 2015 and has since expanded.

"It was really for pediatric patients with epilepsy, and we were serving high CBD products. We’ve grown this program ever since to issue new products to new patients," Richardson said.

Texas Original was one of the state's first licensed providers and says the demand will continue to grow, only increasing the need for a facility like this one.

"We have a lot of runways to run on here, so it’s really just filling out this facility and turning on capacity as the program continues to run," said Richardson.

So far, nine conditional licenses have been awarded and three more are expected in April.

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King

Recent development news in Bastrop County includes the opening of the largest medical cannabis facility in Texas and a planned 400-acre mixed-use development. Read about these projects and more below.

Bastrop City Council approved $102,000 in contracts Dec. 9 for feasibility studies that will gauge the viability of proposed projects as part of Bastrop West.

The details

Two contracts were given the green light for the 400-acre mixed-use development, including:

Some background

Bastrop West is planned near the intersection of FM 20 and Hwy. 71 and will also feature an area for outdoor entertainment and fields for youth sports.

The city-owned project is in partnership with a private development company, according to city documents.

The outlook

The findings from the feasibility studies will be shared with Bastrop City Council at a future meeting.

Texas' largest medical cannabis facility opens in Bastrop

Bastrop is now home to the largest medical cannabis facility in Texas.

The details

Texas Original, which relocated its headquarters to Bastrop, expanded from a 7,700-square-foot spot to a 75,000-square-foot facility—nearly 10 times its previous space—where the cannabis is sungrown, according to a news release.

Some background

House Bill 46 is a state law passed this spring that allows physicians to prescribe medical-grade, low-THC products to eligible patients in partnership with licensed dispensaries.

The outlook

Texas Original will transform its former headquarters at 12701 Lowden Lane, Austin, into a satellite location where patients can pick up their prescriptions.

Developers have announced plans for a retail center in Adelton, marking a major step toward delivering the first shops and services for the mixed-use, master-planned community in Bastrop. Construction will begin in mid-2027.

Construction of a Texas A&M Forest Service office in Smithville has an estimated cost of $2.5 million, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The Bastrop County Commissioners Court OK’d an application with the Texas Historical Commission for a grant through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program during a Nov. 24 meeting.

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The $43 million broadband BOOT II program is set to transform access for more than 10,000 rural homes in Bastrop County.

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — Construction is underway across Bastrop County to bring high-speed internet to thousands of rural families who have struggled with slow or unreliable connections.

Bastrop County received more than $43 million from the Texas Broadband Development Office’s Bringing Online Opportunities to Texans, or BOOT II, program. The funding is set to connect more than 10,000 homes by the end of 2026 through a partnership with fiber optic internet provider Highline.

For many residents, the new network represents more than faster downloads - it’s also a lifeline.

Bastrop County Cares executive director Norma Mercado said many rural families have lacked dependable internet for years. She said the new broadband expansion will give families opportunities that were not previously possible.

“There was a survey where more than 4,700 residents said they had little or no access to the internet,” Mercado said. “This project is going to make a huge difference in our communities."

Kirsten Kampmeier, the GIS analyst with Bastrop County Cares, said the service will start at $39 per month for speeds of 100 megabits per second.

“Based on the maps approved by the county, 10,471 homes will be connected,” Kampmeier said. “We’re especially glad the rural and hardest-to-reach areas are being prioritized first, not last.”

Beyond expanding access, Bastrop County Cares also plans to offer digital literacy classes to help residents use the internet safely and effectively. The nonprofit will focus on helping seniors and first-time users learn how to navigate the web, apply for jobs online and recognize scams.

Both Mercado and Kampmeier said reliable internet access affects nearly every aspect of life in rural areas, from health care to education and employment.

“Having internet means being able to see a doctor, get counseling, take online classes,” Mercado said. “It connects people who’ve been isolated and gives them access to opportunity.”

The county’s fiber project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, bringing reliable broadband service to homes that have waited for years to get connected.