Cedar Park is edging closer to landing a big-ticket research-and-development campus aimed squarely at the commercial space and defense sectors north of Austin. The proposed Central Texas Spaceport and Defense Innovation Campus would bundle together laboratories, environmental test bays, and a dedicated education center where teams could plan missions, assemble spacecraft, and handle secure government work. The project is being led by the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp., and if it comes to life, it could pull even more aerospace R&D and manufacturing into Williamson County.
What planners are proposing
The concept calls for roughly 115,000 square feet of development spread across four buildings, with a total price tag projected between $78 million and $108 million. Plans include a secure, compartmented information facility, areas to build and test spacecraft, office suites, and a 20,000-square-foot education and incubator building. The development team describes the effort as a public-private partnership tying together the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp., the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering, and a roster of private aerospace and defense firms, according to Bisnow.
Local authority and governance
The Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation was formed in 2025 with support from Cedar Park and Williamson County to pursue spaceport infrastructure under Texas law. County records show that commissioners signed off on the corporation’s bylaws and installed a seven-member board to steer planning and funding decisions, per Williamson County.
Firefly and a growing cluster
Cedar Park is not exactly starting from zero. Firefly Aerospace already runs its corporate operations in the city, giving the area a hometown heavyweight in advanced manufacturing and space R&D. City economic-development filings note that Firefly’s growth in Cedar Park has helped spark interest in building out an aerospace corridor and ultimately contributed to the creation of the CTSDC as a tool to pull in additional industry partners, according to Cedar Park Economic Development.
Phasing, budgets and timeline
Project documents shared with reporters lay out a three-phase build for the main campus, plus a separate education hub. Phase I would launch with a 20,000-square-foot standalone building for the secure information facility, with construction costs estimated between $24.5 million and $33 million. Phase II would tack on a 40,000-square-foot environmental test center, budgeted at roughly $22 million to $30 million. Phase III would round out about 35,000 additional square feet, at an estimated $24 million to $25 million.
Alongside that R&D complex, the education campus is penciled in at about 20,000 square feet, with offices, incubator suites, coworking space, and classrooms, and a projected cost of $7 million to $10 million. Developers say they are aiming to break ground on Phase I later this year, according to Bisnow.
Why it matters
Local officials argue the campus could tighten R&D links among university researchers, defense contractors, and startups while seeding more high-wage technical jobs in the northern suburbs of Austin. The University of Texas has already been ramping up its space and defense research footprint, including new funding for a Space Domain Awareness lab that would bolster the Cockrell School and TACC with infrastructure that lines up neatly with the kind of work envisioned for a campus like this, according to UT Austin…