Construction began Sept. 28 on the $2.5 million U.S. customs facility set to open at the Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in mid-2016.


Airport Director Scott Smith said the new 3,200-square-foot facility is expected to meet the needs of more flyers throughout Montgomery County and act as a tool to drive development in the area. Flyers will be able to go through the new customs facility and go through inspection before boarding their flight, which will save them the effort of  going through a customs facility at another airport.


“This new facility is going to be an additional service that meets the needs of more customers who fly internationally and lowers the expense of travel,” Smith said. “It is also really an economic development tool. Things are growing, and this is going to serve as an attraction to businesses who do business internationally.”


Smith said the customs facility was funded by a number of entities, such as the city of Conroe, Montgomery County and Black Forest Ventures. A $50,000 contribution was also given by The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership along with a $25,000 contribution from the Shenandoah Municipal Development District.


The original plan to fund the facility also included The Woodlands Township, which pulled out of funding the project last October.


Bruce Tough, chairman of the board of directors for The Woodlands Township, said although the township initially agreed to contribute $600,000, the county did not listen to the concerns the township had regarding the upcoming project. After not hearing a response from the county, The Woodlands Township board members made a decision to not fund the customs facility.


“The township was considering [funding] the facility, but we made some requests to the county first,” Tough said. “We asked them to consider changing the name of the airport to something like Conroe-Woodlands Airport and also that we had some position on the advisory board for the airport. We also wanted to know if this would be a one-time funding and [if] our money would be returned if the airport should ever be closed.”


However, Tough said he still believes the customs facility will be beneficial to the county and act as a growth initiative.


“It will be beneficial to The Woodlands area and the county as a whole,” he said. “The timing is right, and it will attract businesses and bring more to our medical and schooling options. But the costs of these facilities are just going up dramatically. Five years ago this would’ve cost about $600,000, and now it’s about $2 million.”


Gil Staley, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, said the organization gave $50,000—money left over from the end of the fiscal year Aug. 30— because its board wanted to put the money to good use instead of leaving it in a bank.


“The $50,000 we contributed is going toward constructing the [information technology] infrastructure of the facility,” Staley said. “Our goal is always to help fund economic development and job creation, and the board unanimously agreed to contribute to this project since it would lead to economic development for Montgomery County.”


Additionally, the Shenandoah Municipal Development District board of directors voted to invest $25,000 in the customs facility in late October. Board President Jason Frazer said the customs facility will provide real benefits to the county and help attract and retain high-quality business in the area.


“The MDD looks forward to being a partner with the airport and the business it will draw to our area,” Frazer said.


Staley said even though the airport and the customs facility are not located in The Woodlands, it is still considered a community airport because of its proximity to The Woodlands residents and businesses.


“This new U.S. customs facility is going to provide access to corporate users, and that’s what we’re trying to attract,” he said. “It does help The Woodlands since we are the largest [area] job creator with many corporate citizens who travel, so this project fits perfectly.”