Exclusive: Inside Starbase’s rapid rise — hundreds of permits and major construction reshape SpaceX’s new city

STARBASE — The newest city in the Rio Grande Valley is growing at rocket speed. 

Since its incorporation in May, Starbase has issued nearly 150 building permits and drawn an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in construction — from new housing and community buildings to large-scale SpaceX facilities that are reshaping the once-remote stretch of Boca Chica Highway.

Starbase has only been a city for about five months, but its inspectors have already been busy processing hundreds of building permits, records obtained by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal show.

Located along a lonely stretch of Boca Chica Highway leading to the Gulf, the city serves as the epicenter of Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX. Since incorporating this spring, the company town has seen a burst of residential and commercial activity as it transitions from a private enclave into a functioning municipality.