Tesla Leasing 1 Million Square Foot Warehouse in Brookshire, Texas

Photo: Overtaken Productions (via Houston Business Journal)

Tesla is leasing a 1.04 million-square-foot warehouse in Brookshire, Texas, according to statements from a City Council member and a certificate of occupancy issued in October (via Houston Business Journal).

Brookshire City Council member and President of the economic development board Jeremiah Hill said Tesla is currently preparing permits for Building 9 of the city’s Empire West Business Park, a 300-acre industrial park located between I-10 and U.S. Highway 90.

The city is located to the west of Katy, Texas, and the lease was confirmed by the October 11 certificate of occupancy and Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield in the fourth quarter. Still, Stream Realty Partners, which is the developer working on Empire West, did not confirm the details of the lease.

Although Tesla did not confirm or deny the plans, nor did it state what the building would be used for, Hill suspects the automaker to use it for battery storage.

“We don’t have official confirmation of that, but that’s what we believe it’s going to be in that facility,” Hill said.

Tesla is also hiring an associate manager and other supervisors to work on production control at the Brookshire location, both day and night shifts.

Plans for the facility were discussed between Tesla and the city of Brookshire back in September 2022, with permits being pulled in November or December for building out the warehouse. There’s a small office space and Tesla staff are already inside the latter.

“(We) look forward to having them as a good neighbor for us,” said Hill. “And the jobs that are potentially going to be created for our community and for the surrounding areas as part of that, it’s going to be a great thing.”

The news comes just a few days after it was discovered in a filing that Tesla plans to spend $717 million on expansions to Gigafactory Texas.