Galaxy Helios Phase 2

The Helios 3 project, filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as Galaxy Helios Phase 2, is a one-story data center and office building under new construction at 1003 FM 193 in Afton, Texas. The structure covers 349,594 square feet of floor space, a scale that places it among the largest commercial builds in Dickens County. The project is privately funded on private land for private use, with an estimated construction cost of $1,300,000,000. This valuation results in a cost of $3,719 per square foot, a figure that aligns closely with the county median for similar new construction filings.

Galaxy Helios II LLC serves as the owner and developer of record for this facility. The design firm of record is Stantec Architecture, Inc. Mark S. Robinson is the registered accessibility specialist associated with the project. The TDLR registration status for Helios 3 is Review Complete, indicating that the necessary plan reviews were finalized in April 2026. Construction activities commenced in April 2026, and the project is scheduled to finish in August 2027. This build window spans 510 days, which is longer than the median scheduled build window of 365 days for comparable new construction projects in the county.

Context and Comparisons

The estimated cost of $1,300,000,000 is above the county median for its type, placing the project in the top quarter of recent filings in Dickens County. The median estimated cost for new construction in the county is $7,000,000, with the middle half of projects ranging from $750,000 to $900,000,000. The median size for these projects is 147,457 square feet, meaning Helios 3 is significantly larger than the typical local build. The cost per square foot of $3,719 is close to the county median of $3,719 per square foot, suggesting that the unit cost is consistent with regional standards for high-end commercial construction despite the total project value being an outlier.

Galaxy Helios II LLC has two other TDLR-registered projects in Afton, totaling $2,200,000,000 in estimated costs. These include Helios 4, valued at $1,300,000,000, and Helios 2, valued at $900,000,000, both of which have completed their plan reviews. Stantec Architecture, Inc. has designed six other registered projects totaling $2,208,150,000, including facilities in Temple and Austin. The local area profile for ZIP code 79220 shows a population of about 221 and a median household income of $47,431, according to U.S. Census ACS 2023 five-year estimates. The Dickens County unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in June 2026, higher than a year earlier, according to FRED data.