BRONZE AWARD
Project Title: Uber Technologies General and Administrative Hub
Entered By: City of Dallas Office of Economic Development
Uber’s selection of the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas for its new U.S. General and Administrative Hub has earned the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development our DOTY Bronze Award. The project is expected create 3,000 direct new jobs over the next 10 years, generating a projected direct economic impact of nearly $700 million and $324 million in direct new wages during the same period.
Uber Technologies’ new U.S. hub will reside in The Epic, a new mixed-use development on Pacific Ave. across the street from the Deep Ellum rail station in the heart of the vibrant historic area east of downtown Dallas. Westdale Real Estate Investment and KDC, the developers of The Epic, have agreed to build a second office tower specifically for Uber.
Construction on the second office tower will be completed in approximately three years. In the meantime, Uber will lease 168,000 square feet (60.6 percent of the space) at The Epic’s first office tower, currently under construction. Once the second 500,000 square foot tower is constructed, Uber will lease 450,000 square feet of that building and move all operations into it. It is anticipated that the ride-sharing giant will move into the second tower by 2023, and will execute a minimum 10-year lease with renewal options.
AN ULTRA-COOL NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WORKS AND PLAYS 24/7
When Uber announced its plan to establish a new U.S. hub, Dallas quickly became a contender on its shortlist of possible locations. Dallas was the first city in Texas to offer the Uber app, said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and has since “become a hub of innovation for our platform.”
When he announced last August that Dallas had won the competition for Uber’s coveted U.S. hub, Khosrowshahi said the hip vibe of the Deep Ellum neighborhood was a big factor in sealing the deal. “We wanted to make sure that we have this office in a particularly cool section of town and make the offices incredibly attractive,” he said, highlighting the company’s preference to be located in a city and neighborhood where it can benefit from a truly 24-hour live-work-play environment.
In addition to its pioneering ride-sharing platform, Uber Technologies currently offers a variety of services, including food delivery (Uber Eats), freight shipping (Uber Freight), healthcare transportation (Uber Health), electric bike and scooter sharing (JUMP) and public transit solutions (UberPool). Plans for future services include self-driving vehicle technologies and an aerial ridesharing division, Uber Elevate. Uber is based in San Francisco and currently has 785 worldwide operations and an estimated 110-million worldwide users.
The incentives for the Uber project included a Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $24 million (or $8,000 per job, based on a commitment off 3,000 jobs); a five-year, 50-percent business personal property tax abatement from the City of Dallas; a 10-year, 90 percent personal property tax abatement from Dallas County; and a nomination to be designated as a Texas Enterprise Project under the Texas Enterprise Zone Act, a state sales/use tax refund program.
PROJECT IMPACT ESTIMATES
- 3,000 direct and 1,735 indirect new jobs over the next 10 years.
- Direct economic impact of $695 million during the next 10 years.
- New wages estimated at $324 million over the next 10 years.
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