AudioTreviño: Brownsville will eventually annex SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility 

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – Brownsville City Attorney Guillermo (Will) Treviño says he believes SpaceX’s rocket launching facility at Boca Chica will one day be annexed by Brownsville.

Treviño made his prediction at a breakfast event hosted by Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. 

The event was held to discuss the two propositions Brownsville residents are currently being asked to vote on – the creation of the Greater Brownsville Municipal Development District (MDD), and the termination of the city’s two current economic development entities, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.

In the Q&A session, Brownsville entrepreneur Steve Perez referenced a map Treviño had shown in his PowerPoint presentation. “I noticed on the map, the ETJ (extra-territorial jurisdiction) map, When do you expect for it to cover SpaceX? Because I didn’t see it covered all the way to Boca Chica beach. That’s my question,” Perez said.

Treviño responded: “I have an idea for that. But we haven’t gone down that rabbit hole yet. And so I know that sounds a little like code. But, would I like for us to include SpaceX in our ETJ? Of course. If I could include it in our city limits and it was up to me, I would do it.”

Treviño continued: “The Texas Legislature has made it difficult for cities to annex, so you have to as a landowner petition to be annexed. We haven’t received any petitions from the Musk Foundation or Elon Musk to move towards that area.”

“Will we be there one day? Yes, I think so. I think with the way infrastructure is needed in the ETJ, the regulations are needed, they’re gonna want to be part of Brownsville city limits, and we’ll go out there right. 

“When you say ETJ, when we talk about it as our city growth area, that is where we plan to move one day, as annexation happens, or as we grow out that way. But it’s a process. It takes time. It’s not in the ETJ right now but it will be.”

Businessman and investor Elon Musk owns SpaceX.

In his presentation, Treviño spoke about what a “yes” vote on the MDD proposition would mean. With an MDD, the land in Brownsville’s ETJ would be subject to sales tax collections, meaning more money for the city. Currently, sales tax revenues are not collected by the city in the ETJ.

“The Texas Comptroller estimates $400,000 in uncollected tax revenue from the ETJ but it’s not being collected by the city. So that’s money that we’re leaving on the table,” Treviño.

“There’s been chatter and newspaper articles written about SpaceX building a $14 million Rec (recreation) center and sushi restaurant. The sushi restaurant is what’s estimated to be about $500,000.”

That $400,000 will grow, Treviño. He pointed to a sushi restaurant SpaceX wants to build in the ETJ. 

At the conclusion of the presentation, entrepreneur Perez again asked Treviño about the ETJ map shown in the presentation. He wanted to know if the sushi restaurant would be in the ETJ. Treviño said he would get back to him and the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.

Treviño later emailed the Guardian. He wrote: “It appears that the shopping center is inside the ETJ, but the factory and sushi restaurant will be just outside. Still, great for the surrounding area and there is room for the ETJ to grow should the commission so desire it.”

SpaceX’s 2,502 square-foot sushi restaurant is set to be built at 52213 St. Jude Street. It is a $500,000 project.

SpaceX’s 16,176 square-foot recreation center is set to be built 38965 LBJ Boulevard near a SpaceX tracking station off of Boca Chica Boulevard. It is a $13.5 million project.

SpaceX is set to build a grocery store, retail shops, and cafe at 40998 Quick Silver Avenue. The $8.9 million, 11,200 square foot project is titled “RioWest.”

SpaceX is also set to build a 3,500 square foot restaurant at 50520 Rio Grande Drive. The $6.1 million project is also being titled “RioWest.” It will include an outdoor deck overlooking the Rio Grande.

Here is an audio recording from the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce event of Brownsville City Attorney Will Treviño discussing the Greater Brownsville Municipal Development District proposition:

Gardella: No jobs will be lost

Bret Gardella, GBIC’s executive director and CEO, was in the audience for  Treviño’s presentation. He was not slated to speak. However, Brownsville Chamber President Esmy Villarreal if he would answer a question in the Q&A portion of the event. The question came from Larry Jokl, a real estate agent and former chairman of the Brownsville Chamber board of directors.

Jokl asked if any jobs would be lost if voters said “yes” to the creation of the MDD and the termination of GBIC and BCIC. Gardella responded:

“So that is not my decision. I am not the director of the MDD. I have not been told I’m going to be the director of the MDD if it’s created. So, it would be my anticipation, if the commission does create this, that they’re going to combine forces. Are there going to be some redundancies? Probably. 

“But, the nice thing that the mayor and the city commission have told both organizations (GBIC and BCIC) is that nobody loses a job. Nobody loses their title and nobody loses their salary. 

“Now that does not mean they’re all going to be combined under the MDD umbrella. Some people may transition to go to work for the city. So the goal is not to fire people, alright, to put people out in the street. The goal is to make sure that the resources, the folks, are brought together to do what is in the best interest of the City of Brownsville. How are we going to grow this? So that’s what I’ve been told.”

Gardella stressed he was providing information about the two propositions currently before Brownsville. He said he was not advocating for or against them.

The election for the propositions is May 4. Early voting starts April 22.