‘I thought I had more time’: Grimes County resident reacts as land clearing begins near Terafab site

GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) - For 22 years, Danny Cross has lived on 31 acres just south of Gibbons Creek Reservoir in Grimes County. He built his home there with his wife. He raised his cattle and horses there. He planted trees he brought from his father’s house in Houston.

They thought they were building something permanent.

For months, Cross knew SpaceX had been buying land around him. What he didn’t know, until last week when Terafab renderings were released, was just how close the facility would actually be.

“I have over 4,000 feet of fence that I share with him right now. With Elon Musk,” Cross said. “He owns on the north side of me. And then he owns on the west side of me. So I’m tucked up in his armpit.”

When Cross first heard SpaceX was coming to Grimes County, he wasn’t too worried. He assumed the massive chip manufacturing facility would be built on the north side of Gibbons Creek Reservoir, on the old power plant site. What SpaceX has called brown land. Unusable land.

But the renderings SpaceX released last week told a different story. The facility appears to be heading to the south side of the reservoir. Cross’s side.

“That was a big shock,” he said. “I thought I had a couple years. But doesn’t look like it now.”

Cross says he and his wife poured everything into this place, not just money, but memories.

“We were building what we thought was our forever house,” he said. “Money doesn’t replace that, those memories, you know?”

He has already listed his property for sale. But finding a buyer has not been easy.

Cross says he’s not against Terafab. He is not against Elon Musk. He just wishes things had played out differently.

“I just didn’t want it to take my property,” he said. “You never think it’s gonna happen to you. But it’s happening to us.”

Cross is not alone. Several other residents on the south side of the reservoir are facing the same uncertainty.

Chad Hovde with the Bryan College Station Regional Association of Realtors says the area around Gibbons Creek is about to change in ways that will affect property values for years to come.

“Anytime you have something go industrial, maybe the immediate property surrounding it takes some time to kind of rebalance, because it may not be as desirable adjacent to it,” Hovde said. “It would have always been a peaceful country setting, but now it will begin transitioning to more of a commercial corridor.”

For those hoping to simply stay put, Hovde says that may become increasingly difficult.

“If your desire is to be on just kind of quiet rural land, it may not still be that same way as it used to be,” he said. “So that may become undesirable for certain owners, and they may decide to sell.”

Hovde also confirmed that SpaceX is already reaching out to landowners in the area.

“I do think that there’s offers being extended and some terms being met between the developer and landholders, and other landholders holding out for maybe a higher price than they’re willing to pay,” he said.

Land clearing already underway

In drone footage captured over Cross’s property, land nearby appears to be actively being cleared. KBTX reached out to the Central Grimes County Volunteer Fire Department, which confirmed the burning was in fact in the area of the future Terafab site.

Cross says he plans to leave Grimes County entirely when he sells. After 22 years, the place he moved to for peace- the stars, the dark skies, the sound of nothing- will never be the same.

He grew up watching the Woodlands get built outside Houston. He knows what happens when a big company moves in. He just never thought it would happen to him.

“30 is going to be the next 1960,” he said, referring to Highway 30. “Wall-to-wall restaurants. That’s not what I signed up for.”