Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines has commenced construction on a $40 million lunar operations center at the Houston Spaceport.

Texas Real Estate Research Center reports the 110,000-square-foot project will be home to offices, control rooms and production space that include a separate 5,000-square-foot propulsion test facility.

The city will own the structure and pay for the construction, with Intuitive Machines slated to lease the facility from the city and reimburse the government over the course of a 20-year lease.

Intuitive Machines is also set to make history early next year by becoming the first-ever private company to send a lander to the moon. Overall, the move is widely seen by industry experts as further cementing Houston as a leader in the rapidly expanding aerospace industry.

“This groundbreaking ceremony further propels Houston as the leader in the space race to the moon and beyond,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at the groundbreaking event Dec. 2. “Our great city is known for taking on humankind’s boldest challenges, and Houston’s own Intuitive Machines will be the first private company in the history of humankind to put a lunar lander on the moon.”

Turner added the landing will be the country’s first return to the moon in nearly half a century.