Gradually , then
Suddenly
SHERMAN BECOMES THE LATEST LONE STAR STATE BOOMTOWN
By Nate Strauch
For most of the last 175 years , the eyes of Texas have rarely , if ever , wandered north of Dallas . In fact , most Texans would be hardpressed to say if there is much north of Dallas , save for the money-printing casinos of southern Oklahoma .
But just an hour north of Reunion Tower , nestled between the Red River and the sprawling suburbs of McKinney , sits Sherman , Texas , county seat of Grayson County . And over the last few months , the eyes of many Texans — not to mention several national and international heavyweights of industry — have been focused firmly upon this growing city of 45,000 people .
What they ’ ve seen here has catapulted this historic community to the forefront of Texas ’ s burgeoning high-tech economy . And with Texas Instruments ’ November announcement of a $ 29 billion ( with-a- ‘ b ’) semiconductor plant to begin construction in early 2022 , suffice to say that all eyes are now wide-open to the seemingly limitless untapped potential of Grayson County , and Sherman in particular .
“ People have been saying for decades that growth was coming up Highway 75 , but then it never really happened ,” said Sherman Mayor David Plyler , the thrice-elected executive of the city . “ It had really gotten to the point where people had cried ‘ wolf ’ for so long , no one really believed it was going to happen anymore . But after what we ’ ve seen in the last few years , there aren ’ t many doubters left .”
It wasn ’ t a wolf , however , that showed up first at Sherman ’ s door , but a Panda . Back in 2014 , Dallas-based Panda Power Funds opened a state-of-the-art , 758-megawatt , combined-cycle natural gas power plant on Sherman ’ s south side , providing the city with a nearby source of consistent , environmentally-friendly power generation to supply its growing base of legacy manufacturers .
Then , in 2017 , Finisar ( since rebranded as “ II-VI ”) renovated a 700,000-square-foot building in Sherman , investing $ 390 million of Apple ’ s money to create an onshore production facility for iPhone chips . And with those 500 new jobs in hand , Sherman had officially announced itself as major combatant in the Metroplex ’ s internecine battle to woo the next great titan of industry .
24 • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022