Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport’s on-site detention basin has been tested amidst pending completion of Phase 1 of infrastructure construction, reported the Houston Chronicle.
The detention basin was built to mitigate flooding and adheres to requirements from the Clear Lake Water Authority, which will service Spaceport.
When Storm Imelda moved through the Houston area in mid-September, the basin held the storm water and then slowly released it into nearby Horsepen Bayou over the following 48 hours.
Only 66% of Phase 1 of the infrastructure project is complete, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“Houston offers a booming economy with a strong aerospace industrial base, a well-educated workforce with experience in the high-tech demands of space exploration and plenty of room for growth at a strategically located airport facility,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The Houston Spaceport project looks to the future and embraces our city’s spirit of adventure and innovation.”
Nearly three-quarters of the 95 acre area for the $17.29 million construction project will be concrete when finished July 2020.
“We’re putting in about 5,950 feet of roadways and utilities to support developers coming in; so at the end of the day, that’s about 70% (of the site) that’s going to be impervious surface,” said Houston Airport System engineer Devon Tiner.
In addition to building roads, Phase 1 includes building water and wastewater pipelines, electrical power and distribution and communications facilities, reported the Houston Chronicle.
Future Spaceport tenants will also have full access to all newly installed infrastructure and will be able to design facilities to their specific requirements, according to the Houston Chronicle. The site will eventually feature 53,000 square feet of office and lab space for tenants.
The target date for completion of Phase 1 is May 2020. Funding is coming from airport system revenues and a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.