HARLINGEN — First, there was Mars Crossing.

Now, there's The Flats at Mars Crossing.

The Mars Crossing theme has resurfaced in a string of land purchases at Boca Chica Beach on behalf of Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The Boca Chica site is the proposed location of the world's first private, commercial vertical launch complex in Cameron County.

In late May, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it had issued the final environmental impact statement on the proposed site.

That same day, SpaceX staff, through a recently formed limited liability company – The Flats at Mars Landing – negotiated the purchase of less than an acre of land: 8,750 square feet of property near the project site.

The Flats at Mars Crossing LLC was formed on March 31.

Public records from the Texas Secretary of State show that SpaceX's director of advanced projects, Steven Davis, is manager of the new company.

The company's registered agent is SpaceX's director of business affairs, Lauren Dreyer.

The most recent purchase was from a private landowner. The Flats at Mars Crossing then transferred the property to Dogleg Park LLC, which has been purchasing property on SpaceX's behalf at the Boca Chica site since June 2012.

This purchase brings the total number of lots SpaceX owns through its companies to 104, comprising nearly 42 acres of land. The company also has leased an additional 56.5 acres at Boca Chica.

Through Dogleg, SpaceX now controls nearly 100 acres, including a parcel of slightly more than 8 acres of land named Mars Crossing Subdivision.

The development comes during FAA's much-anticipated, early July decision on SpaceX's request for permits to launch rockets from the Boca Chica site.

eperez-trevino@valleystar.com