Texarkana, USA (Nov. 28, 2023) – TexAmericas Center (TAC), which owns and operates the 3rd ranked industrial park and is one of the largest mixed-use industrial parks in the United States, announced today a new partnership with Texas A&M University-Texarkana that will allow employees of tenant businesses to receive discounted tuition towards classes at the university.
The partnership benefit includes a tuition discount for full-time employees and is applicable to both degree and non-degree seeking programs. The partnership was finalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Dec. 8 on the Texas A&M-Texarkana campus and helps launch TexAmericas Center’s “Come Home to Texarkana” and “Texarkana Advantage” programs that offer incentives to people who choose to work and live in the Texarkana region.
Details of the new partnership include a 25 percent tuition discount for eligible employees of TexAmericas Center and those working for businesses, owners and lessors, located on the TexAmericas Center property. Currently there are 21 full-time employees at TexAmericas Center, with more than 1,300 others employed by TexAmericas Center tenants.
The tuition discount is applicable to programs of all academic levels, including baccalaureate, graduate, certificate, and micro-credential. Classes are available in face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats and there is no fee needed to apply. In addition to the 25 percent discount, any eligible employee who is a new student at the university enrolling in at least six credit hours of undergraduate or graduate coursework is eligible to receive the First Flight Scholarship, which allows them to take their first class free of charge.
“We are excited to forge this partnership with TexAmericas Center to allow greater access to an affordably priced, high quality, yet flexible education for all employees at the center’s site,” said A&M-Texarkana President Dr. Ross Alexander. “This not only benefits the companies already in our area but highlights for others the university’s commitment to providing educational solutions for the workforces in our region.”
“In today’s talent-based economy, the ability to deliver a workforce skilled for industry needs is arguably the most important incentive that any community can put on the table during a company’s site search,” said TexAmericas Center Executive Director and CEO Scott Norton. “Despite its importance, workforce development is often not carefully planned, measured, or optimized,” Norton continued. “What Texas A&M University- Texarkana is doing will create a local differentiator that sets the Texarkana region apart from other US communities. This incentive will allow us to attract more business and industry to TexAmericas Center and allow existing business and industry to strengthen their current and future workforce.”
“While federal incentives are available nationwide and Texas incentives are available throughout the state, Texas A&M University- Texarkana has created an incentive only available in the Texarkana region,” said Eric Voyles, TAC Executive Vice President and Chief Economic Development Officer. “To access this program a company must be located here at TexAmericas Center. That creates a ‘Texarkana Advantage’ that benefits the entire region,” Voyles added.
The new partnership is effective immediately and the benefits can be used for the Spring 2024 semester, which begins in January. Employees wishing to take advantage of the new partnership must meet the admissions standards of the program to which they apply and must remain in good academic standing. For additional information about this and additional academic partnerships please visit the university website at www.tamut.edu/partnerships.
About TexAmericas Center
Located on the Texas side of the Texarkana metropolitan area, TexAmericas Center owns and
operates one of the largest mixed-use industrial parks in the United States. With roughly 12,000 development-ready acres of land and approximately 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial product, TexAmericas Center services four states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas).
For four consecutive years, Business Facilities magazine has ranked TexAmericas Center among the top 10 industrial parks in the country, most recently ranked No. 3 in 2023. (#5 for 2022). Tenants appreciate an impressive transportation corridor that uses multiple state highways, interstates, air freight, and rail lines to disperse from a central U.S. location.
In fact, seven rail lines converge on the Texarkana region TexAmericas Center is host to an on-site rail yard and has over 30 miles of rail running through its properties. TAC Rail services include transload as well as rail car storage and movement.
TexAmericas Center also offers third-party logistics (3PL) services to assist companies with inventory management, warehousing, and fulfillment needs.
The organization recently completed construction on a 150,000-square-foot, state-of the-art speculative building and has the capability to lease, build-to-suit, or facilitate greenfield owner-constructed projects in a timely efficient manner. It is a designated US Opportunity Zone, New Market Tax Credit Census Tract, Foreign Trade Zone #258, and a Texas Enterprise Zone. TexAmericas Center has the operating capabilities of a municipality but functions like a traditional real estate development company, offering customized real estate solutions. For more information about TexAmericas Center, visit TexAmericasCenter.com.
