PECAN ISLAND — A space exploration company is in negotiations to purchase land in southwest Louisiana, but whether it is SpaceX or Blue Origin remains unknown, according to state Sen. Bob Hensgens, who confirmed the talks last week.
Vermilion Parish Police Jury President Chad Vallo said, "I was actually told by someone who has a hunting lease that he was not allowed to renew his hunting lease because of the potential of, and he said SpaceX, coming to the area that he was leasing, which is Vermilion Corporation Area."
No information has been formally brought to the Police Jury yet, but two bills are heading to the governor's desk that would create tax exemptions for aerospace companies in Louisiana.
"Naturally, the concern is understanding that the bill that was passed with the possible tax exempt. We are still interested in what kind of revenue will it generate for the parish, what kind of jobs, concerned about the infrastructure, the substandard roads that will definitely have to be protected," Vallo said.
The Police Jury has authorized the parish administrator to contact Brownsville, Texas about the impacts its SpaceX facility has had on the local economy.
Vallo said, "Naturally, we're hoping that it will have an increase in sales tax. We understand— again from rumors because nothing has been brought to the jury yet— but we understand that they have to actually spend x amount of dollars, a pretty big number in the billions, and they have to employ at least a couple hundred people."
We reached out to SpaceX and Blue Origin for comment, but have not yet heard back.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
