| ▲ | ijustlovemath 4 hours ago |
| Helene survivor here. What's wild to me is that, regardless of the small scale of this facility, it's only a few hundred meters from a 1% flood zone: https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search The address I found for the facility is 9101 Windmill Park Lane Hudson, TX 77064 This seems ill advised given recent events like Hurricane Harvey |
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| ▲ | jccooper 3 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Industrial buildings are typically built at dock height. Even if they don't do any grading, that would put the building well above any plausible flooding in that area. |
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| ▲ | ijustlovemath an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | My point is that we really don't know what "plausible" is anymore with these storms. That much is clear in the data. It seems silly to be so close to a flood zone with your very expensive DUV/EUV machines. There are probably other places they could have placed this facility. | |
| ▲ | hinkley 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | It also turns out that for insurance purposes you are allowed to use infill to get the corner of a property that's below the high water mark above it. At least in some states. Some of the calculus is not about if it will flood it's about if you'll lose your investment if it floods. If an underwriter is willing to cover it, you might go for it anyway. |
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| ▲ | boznz 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| When it floods, they can hold their hands up and say "well we tried".. then get back to business as usual in China |
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| ▲ | PlatoIsADisease 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | Ask any AI, they say Apple has the best marketing of any company in history. All this tracks. Anyone else getting bombarded with WSJ youtube videos about Apple manufacturing? | | |
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| ▲ | Dig1t 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| They will build to a much higher standard than normal US residential construction, as they do with most commercial buildings. Many people do not understand the vast difference between residential construction quality and the quality that mega corps get. I personally watched Apple build their new campus in Austin (I have daily progress pictures of the construction site, I work there), everything is solid concrete. These buildings can withstand any type of hurricane. Flooding is also something which can be mitigated: build foundations to be taller, work with the topography to avoid the path of water, and build drainage solutions. You should see the drainage field that Apple built for their campus in Austin, it's absolutely massive and can divert an incredible amount of water. |
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| ▲ | Aurornis 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | > Many people do not understand the vast difference between residential construction quality and the quality that mega corps get. It’s not limited to mega corps. Commercial construction is built to a higher standard. Some times you can buy commercial grade hardware and materials for your house if you want. Larger buildings are also more robust at the foundation because it needs to be so much stronger. That thick concrete is necessary, not a luxury. |
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| ▲ | apercu 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Weirdly the first thing I thought was "Why Texas"? |
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| ▲ | mgh95 4 hours ago | parent [-] | | Likely a combination of business-friendly policies (low tax, no employer payroll tax, etc.) and proximity to ports. Houston is the 6th [1] largest port in the USA. [1] https://pangea-network.com/busiest-and-biggest-ports-in-the-... | | |
| ▲ | dmix 3 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Apple also managed to build a Houston factory quickly there, it was announced in Feb 2025 and was starting production by August which is pretty impressive. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/economy/article/ap... | |
| ▲ | apercu 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | I agree with you on all of these except: low tax I grew up in DFW. My house in WI is assessed at a significantly higher value than my siblings house in Ft Worth. My 2025 property tax bill ~$5k, my 2025 state income tax - not gonna publish it here but not all that significant. Sibling in Texas property tax bill: ~$14k. Significantly higher than my state income tax + property tax. Also, I don't have to live in Texas. | | |
| ▲ | cloverich 3 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | I moved from TX to west coast a few years back. Property taxes down, all other taxes and expenses up; total cost of living much higher now. It's also business friendly enough to make deals on taxes as needed, I can't imagine that will be a problem. I get the hate on TX but tbh outside of the heat, it can be a pretty great place to live across many dimensions. | |
| ▲ | google234123 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Isn't this something where there is clear and easy to obtain aggregate data. What is the average tax burden for someone in Wi vs Tx instead of comparing a single data point from each? I have a feeling it's going to contradict you |
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| ▲ | ViscountPenguin 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Given that this is being done in large part to appease Trump the fact that it's a red state surely has something to do with it too. |
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| ▲ | lysace 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| That's a good sign it's not a serious long-term effort. Onshoring cosplay? |
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| ▲ | hinkley 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | The American flag hung on a wall they didn't even bother to paint is a good sign it's not a serious long-term effort. Steve Jobs would have fired someone over that obvious broken window situation, and he'd have been (mostly) right to do so. |
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