SpaceX staff to get lavish park in Musk’s latest Texas land buy

[CHICAGO] Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning to develop a sprawling private recreation complex on land adjacent to his Texas Starlink factory, the latest sign of the billionaire’s efforts to expand his corporate footprint across the state.

The “Project Echo” plan would develop basketball and pickleball courts, picnic areas and potentially a floating deck for kayaks across several acres, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

Use of the complex would be limited to employees, according to the documents, obtained through public-records disclosure laws. SpaceX will spend millions of US dollars on the development, a source familiar with the matter said.

Project Echo would abut a factory in Bastrop, Texas, where SpaceX produces about 15,000 terminals and component parts daily for its Starlink satellite Internet unit. Musk’s broader expansion includes recreation sites, real estate and even incorporating his own city initiatives that have spawned a number of environmental and land-use fights.

The plans mirror Musk’s efforts to build an “ecological paradise” at his Tesla facility in the state. At that site, roughly 32 kilometres away from the SpaceX factory, the world’s richest person is planning a publicly accessible park on Tesla property featuring walking and biking trails, a riverfront boardwalk and fishing areas.

SpaceX’s plans rank among the more elaborate private outdoor oases intended to rejuvenate and retain office workers, ranging from Capital One’s rooftop mini-golf course to LG Electronics’s walking trails. Other outdoor corporate spaces, such as Expedia Group’s quarter-mile-long beachfront in Seattle, offer some public access.  

SpaceX’s Bastrop facility is set to expand by one million square feet over the next three years, employing hundreds of additional workers.

Bastrop County has issued a development permit for activity at the site but has not identified it as a public park since that would require additional reviews and permitting, a spokesperson for the county said.

A representative for SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

The proposed SpaceX Project Echo site comes with extra challenges as it lies beside a river on a designated floodplain.

As a result, the company has nixed original plans to put permanent structures and solar lighting on the site, according to the documents.

Meanwhile, Bastrop County is requiring elevation certificates at three critical stages of construction, in accordance with flood damage prevention orders, the county spokesperson said. BLOOMBERG