A SpaceX permit lists its address as “40193 TX 4 Data Center.” Here’s what the record shows.
A SpaceX permit accepted Oct. 15 lists its address as "40193 TX 4 Data Center." Here is what the city record shows, and what it does not.
"Data Center": Two words in Starbase's permit log, next to SpaceX and 444 acres
Annexed in September. Graded within days. Now a SpaceX application with "Data Center" in the address. It is still in plan review, and the record leaves the biggest questions wide open.
Two words. One line in a city log.
On Oct. 15, the City of Starbase accepted a permit application from SpaceX. Under "Description of Work," the log says only this:
444 Acres.
The address is where it gets interesting. It reads: "40193 TX 4 Data Center, Starbase."
No site plan in the log. No square footage. No megawatts. Just two words in an address, sitting next to SpaceX's name and a stretch of land about the size of 335 football fields, end zones included.
Before anyone runs with this, one line matters more than the rest: the status reads "Plan Review: In Progress," and the issued date is blank. The city is reviewing this application. It has not approved it.
THE RECORD, LINE BY LINE
Permit 2026-STAR-NCB00002:
- Address: 40193 TX 4 Data Center, Starbase
- Applicant: SpaceX
- Description of work: 444 Acres
- Accepted: Oct. 15, 2026
- Status: Plan Review: In Progress
- Issued: blank
THE 444-ACRE PAPER TRAIL
The city's own records show how quickly things have moved since September.
Sept. 21: The City of Starbase annexes 444.46 acres through Ordinance 2026-25, on a petition from SpaceX. The land runs from Highway 4 north to the Brownsville Ship Channel. It is now inside Starbase city limits.
Sept. 24: Three days later, the city issues SpaceX a site development permit described as "444 acres - mass grading." Status: inspections pending.
Sept. 29: A second SpaceX site development permit, described as "site for 444 facility," is accepted. It is on hold in planning and zoning review.
Oct. 15: The application with "Data Center" in the address is accepted. It is in plan review.
From the annexation vote to a SpaceX application with "Data Center" in its address: 24 days.
THE WORDS HAVE APPEARED BEFORE
This is not the only time the phrase shows up in Starbase's log. A separate, older entry from September 2025, at the main build site, lists the address "51823 TX 4 Unit 03 (Data Center)."
That is a different address and a different record. It tells us nothing about what is planned for the 444 acres. It does show that "Data Center" is not new language in the city's paperwork.
WHAT THE RECORD DOES NOT SAY
For all it puts on paper, the permit log is silent on what matters most:
- How big a data center would be
- How much power or water it would use
- How many jobs it would bring
- When construction would start
WHY IT MATTERS
Data centers can be among the most power- and water-intensive buildings anyone constructs. In the Rio Grande Valley, growth is already testing water supplies and the grid. A project on 444 acres would not be a small question for either, and right now the public record gives no numbers to measure it against.
THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW
What exactly will be built on the 444 acres
How much electricity and water will it need, and where will that come from?
What will the city's review require before a permit is issued?
For now, the city's answer is two words and a number. Plan review is still in progress. The 956 Report will keep watching the log.
Sources: City of Starbase building permit log. City of Starbase Ordinance 2026-25.
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