SpaceX moves forward with new 53-acre mixed-use development

Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX now has approval to move forward with construction on a 53-acre mixed-use development along Boca Chica Boulevard in Starbase, after city commissioners there approved the company’s plans Monday night. 

The Huddleston subdivision is located on the south side of Boca Chica Boulevard, across the highway from the original Ad Astra school, which served students — some of whom were children of SpaceX employees — between 2021 and 2023. 

In 2024, SpaceX filed construction documents for a new $1.4 million daycare building on the old Ad Astra school site. 

Since mid-2024, Brownsville-based private Montessori school Kenmont has been licensed to operate a day care facility at the old Ad Astra location in the city of Starbase, according to Health and Human Services records. 

Now, across the highway, the 53-acre site is expected to have a new $20 million Ad Astra school, which would serve students from infancy to 12th grade, construction records and subdivision documents show. 

There are three main sections of the Huddleston subdivision: one 10.6-acre lot, a second 11.8-acre lot, and a 30.6-acre reserve area. 

City of Starbase officials described the Huddleston subdivision as a mixed-used project but did not have any further details. 

The Huddleston project will also sit just east of Rio West, a mixed-use development with housing and retail along the Rio Grande River.