Oct. 15, 2026 · Brownsville moves to pause new data centers for 90 days, as job postings point to a data center at Starbase

October 15, 2026 · Brownsville · Data centers

Brownsville moves to pause new data centers for 90 days, as job postings point to a data center at Starbase

Starship Ship 39 stands inside the lit, open door of Megabay 2, a tall dark steel production building at Starbase, at dusk — File photo: Ship 39 inside Megabay 2, one of SpaceX's production buildings at Starbase, January 2026. Photo: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza (public domain).

Subcontractors trying to recruit construction workers have posted jobs that point to a data center coming to Starbase, RGV Business Journal reported on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The outlet photographed a large metal industrial building SpaceX has under construction north of Highway 4, near the Brownsville landfill. It reported that it was not immediately clear which parcel the data center would use. We found no announcement from SpaceX.

The report lands as Brownsville moves to pause new data centers inside its own lines.

The pause: Brownsville's city commission unanimously approved the first reading of a 90-day data center moratorium on Wednesday, Oct. 7, after the third and final public hearing state law requires, the Brownsville Herald reported. If it passes a second reading on Wednesday, Nov. 4, it takes effect the next day.
What it stops: the "acceptance, processing, and approval of High Intensity Data Process Facilities" in Brownsville's city limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The city can later pass a one-time 90-day extension, and its Environmental and Conservation Task Force will use the time to study data centers and recommend rules.
Why: water. "We live in a sensitive area in terms of water," Mayor John Cowen Jr. told the Herald. Per city staff, no data center permits have been requested or issued since a July application was withdrawn, the Herald reported.
Where Starbase fits: Starbase is its own city, outside the pause. In September it annexed the 444-acre Garcia Lot that SpaceX petitioned in after Brownsville released it. On the 166 acres at Massey's, Starbase's 45-year agreement with SpaceX allows no permit moratorium unless it applies citywide.
On the 444 acres: "we don't know what that property is going to be developed as," Treviño said at the Oct. 7 hearing. If it were going to be a data center, he said, SpaceX "did not have to request deannexation or removal from the ETJ."

Why it matters here: the mayor named water as the worry, and about 70% of the city's water comes from the Rio Grande. A data center at Starbase would answer to Starbase's rules, not Brownsville's. Statewide, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Aug. 3 that new data centers seeking a connection to the state power grid be audited before approval, and Treviño said Oct. 7 the city is relying on that pause for now. Our Oct. 7 story on the Massey's agreement. Our Oct. 14 story on the water deal.

This morning: the city of Starbase lists no road delays or public notices, and Boca Chica Beach is open.

Sources: RGV Business Journal, Oct. 14 · Brownsville Herald (MyRGV), Oct. 8 · RGV Business Journal, Oct. 5 · Texas Tribune, Aug. 3 · City of Brownsville, Project Quantum site · City of Starbase, beach and road access (read Oct. 15) · Photo: U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza, via DVIDS and Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

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