Rockdale’s former Alcoa plant converting to logistic “megasite”

ROCKDALE – Xebec Holdings LLC has announced plans for the 31,000-acre former Alcoa aluminum plant it purchased in November 2021.

The company will develop 3,300 of those acres into 50 million sf of industrial space for what it’s calling the Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Campus.

Xebec’s plans for the 50-square-mile “megasite," along FM 1786 just south of US 79, includes three dozen buildings up to 1.25 million sf each. The entire site could eventually total 30 million to 50 million sf of logistics space supported by rail and roads.

Randy Kendrick, CEO of Xebec, said the “location and resources" drew Xebec to the site. Being in the heart of the Texas Triangle—between Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston—as well as a 20-minute drive from Taylor and 45 minutes from the Tesla headquarters made it a “win-win." Plus, the site, which was an aluminum smelting plant for decades, has access to power, potable water, and wastewater treatment.

The developer expects the first pieces of the campus to be operational by mid-2025.