Well, it has been a couple of years since I have done a
Brownsville Living Blog Post because I have focused my social media energy on
#BrownsvilleLive my Facebook Live show. However, due to the global pandemic it
has become difficult to find topics and guests as most of my shows were focused
on community events and activities as well as interviewing political
candidates. As you can imagine we have been pretty short on local activities to
promote and now that we have gotten through the primaries the need to interview
candidates has greatly decreased. With that said, the show is on a bit of a
hiatus until things normalize and I have more time. However, the recent news
about the proposed Space X Resort has made me feel it's necessary to at least
do a blog post on the proposed Space X Luxury Resort.
I am extremely excited about this news. As many of you know
I have been a huge supporter of Space X since before most people even knew they
were coming. I was even asked by Brownsville Economic Development Council
(BEDC) back in 2012 to enhance my online support of their Environmental Impact
Studies (EIS) which I was already promoting heavily on my networks. I was happy
to help of course. This was back before Facebook started clamping down on the
number of people you could invite to an event so I could really promote an
event back then. I would create events for each EIS on my pages and invite
thousands of people to attend. As a result, we would have massive turn out at all
their EIS events. Most of the people were strongly in support of the program
from elementary students to elderly citizens. There were of course a small
number of people who were opposed primarily for environmental reasons. The
events were so well received that when Space X did finally select Brownsville
for their launch site they specifically sited community support as a significant
reason they decided to come here.
Fast forward to 2020 and most people are still in support of
the program, however, they have gained a few vocal opponents. Some of the prior
supporters who live in the area have turned to vocal critics due to the
inconvenience it has forced on their lives. I can certainly understand their
frustration. The county has not done a good job of working with Space X to
register locals and allow them free access to their properties. Some vocal
critics are local attorney Bobby Lerma and retiree Ellen Tyma. Both of which
have been outspoken about the inconvenience they have suffered and the
disturbance of their peace. It is understandable since people who live in the
area are the type that don't want to be hassled by the government or bothered
by the hustle and bustle of an active Space Port. I definitely understand their
feelings. However, there are also many locals who have benefited off the
presence of Space X. Most of the residents of Kopernik Shores accepted a
payment of triple the value of their home in exchange for selling them to Space X. One vocal supporter Maria Pointer, who was probably the closest
resident, has remained a supporter and has even gained a following on her Space
X Youtube channel known as StarshipBocaChica which has over 8,500 followers and
tens of thousands of views.
Supporters or detractors aside, Space X continues to move
forward. The latest big buzz is the recent posting on August 3 to their local
job board with the following description. “Boca Chica Village is our latest
launch site dedicated to Starship, our next generation launch vehicle,Space X is
committed to developing this town into a 21st century Spaceport. We are looking
for a talented Resort Development Manager to oversee the development of
SpaceX’s first resort from inception to completion.” Naturally this has caused
a huge buzz in the area and the Space X Fan Community. When contacted by the "Brownsville Herald" Space X staff did not provide comment.
On social media sites this news has been met with mixed
response but most of it appears to be positive. The negatives mostly pertain to
the potential environmental impact. People also feel that it was a bait and
switch because local residents have been bought out under the pretense of
safety and now they are looking to put in a world class resort. Seems a bit
shifty to some people and understandably so. Naturally the few remaining
hold-outs are not happy as this will greatly increase traffic to the area which
is what they ultimately moved out there to avoid in the first place. There is
also some frustration by the local fishing community who worry that
environmentally sensitive areas will be impacted with development and other
issues resulting from increased human presence and commercial activity not to
mention frequent launches.
The frequent launches are another major area of concern. Space X initially proposed only closing beach access one time per month when they applied for the waver. Now that testing has ramped up that seems to have been surpassed which many people anticipated. Even former County Judge Carlos Cascos made the following post on August 4, 2020 to FB, "The agreement that was signed while I was county judge, does not appear to be what is happening now. I have long said that the County's blocking/closures of Boca Chica Beach exceeded those that were outlined in the original agreement with Space X. That original agreement called for 12 days a year (1 day a month) with 3 alternate dates. Bottom line, unless the agreement between Space X & the County has been amended, it would appear that current operations are in conflict with the original agreement. If there were amendments, those should have been made public and discussed publicly, while welcoming public input."
Regardless of the community's feelings it looks like Space X
is here to stay and they have big plans for Boca Chica Beach. I can tell you
personally as a local Realtor Space X has significantly impacted the local economy
in the purchase and rental of homes if nothing else. I can specifically attest
to multiple transactions handled by myself and various other local and regional
real estate brokers for Space X home buyers and renters. In addition to the
influx of Space X staff there are also now multiple parties from outside of the
area looking to invest. I have personally spoken with prospective buyers who
work at companies such as Google and Alibaba and the list goes on. Like it or
not Brownsville is now in an international spot light thanks to Space X. I for
one am extremely happy that we are finally in the news for something good
rather than the normal issues such as illegal immigration, drug trade, poor
health and poverty. I strongly believe the presence of Space X is going to
change the face of our community for generations and possibly change the future
of humanity if Elon Musk has it his way. I feel the negative effects of Space X
are vastly outweighed by the positive economic impact and overall increase of
visibility for our community. I also feel the environmental impact will be
positive in the long run as it will protect many areas from development and
will also increase tourism in the area and generate an incentive to keep it
clean and free of trash and debris. Regardless, of what we think as individuals
there are exciting and interesting times ahead for Brownsville and I am just happy to Be part of it.
Blog Post by: Craig Grove, Administrator of Brownsville Living and the RGV Living Social Media Networks and Owner of GroveRealtyTeam.com and GRTRealty.net.
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