Apple breaks ground on new Austin campus

New York(CNN Business) Ahead of today's visit from President Trump, Apple announced it has begun construction on its new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas.

The 133-acre campus, which is expected to open in 2022, will initially house 5,000 employees, with the capacity to grow to 15,000. It will run on 100% renewable energy, including from solar power generated on site, according to the company. The project was first announced last December and is expected to make Apple the largest private employer in the city.

"With the construction of our new campus in Austin now underway, Apple is deepening our close bond with the city and the talented and diverse workforce that calls it home," the company's CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

The company is no stranger to pricey campuses. Its spaceship-shaped Cupertino, California headquarters, which was unveiled in 2017 after five years of construction, reportedly cost nearly $5 billion to build.

Apple (AAPL) also announced it's gearing up to ship its new Mac Pro to customers starting in December from its manufacturing facility in Austin. The company said in September that it would keep production of the computer in Austin after receiving a federal tariff exclusion for several key parts of the device.

Trump is scheduled to tour the manufacturing facility on Wednesday, which is only about a mile away from the new campus, with Cook, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other administration officials. The facility is the company's largest campus outside of its headquarters in Cupertino.

The Austin campus is part of Apple's nationwide expansion plan, which includes Boulder, Colorado; Culver City, California; New York; Pittsburgh; San Diego and Seattle. The company said it is on track to contribute $350 billion to the US economy between 2018 and 2023 and will contribute $30 billion in capital expenditures in the same period.