Located off Gene Campbell Road, development on the industrial park began when the Walmart Distribution Center opened in 2002, EMCID President and CEO Frank McCrady said. While the company originally said it needed 200 acres for the project, it ended up requiring only 135 acres. With the remaining 65 acres, McCrady said work began on the industrial park.
“The industrial park is currently about 800 acres, but it will never be ‘completed,’” he said. “As we sell land to businesses to build on, we buy more as demand permits.”
McCrady noted about half of the park’s tenants are energy-based companies, while the other half are made up of food and beverage, transportation-related, distribution, furniture, and engineering services.
Most recently, the industrial park welcomed Titan Environmental—a company that supplies, installs and manufactures geosynthetics and engineering construction projects—to its repertoire of businesses. The company opened in a 40,800-square-foot building within the park in February.
On April 4, MultiSeal opened in a 42,000-square-foot building within the park. The company manufactures tire sealants for industrial, agriculture and off-road vehicles. Shortly after, Elevation Land Solutions—a firm that provides land development resources—opened in mid-April as part of a 30,000-square-foot office building within the park.
“The park provides jobs for nearly 2,000 people and has an ad valorem value in the county of about $300 million,” McCrady said.
Future outlook
In March, EMCID officials announced an agreement with GCP Paper USA Inc.—a company that produces private-label tissue products—to purchase 32 acres in the park for a $200 million expansion project. McCrady said the three-phase expansion will include a new 190,000-square-foot warehouse facility, the addition of packaging capabilities set to be operational within the next two years and the addition of a conversion facility set to be in operational within the next three years.
McCrady noted GCP Paper USA Inc.’s packaging operations take place in Houston, while its existing conversion facility is in Mexico.
“This project will create over 200 additional jobs for our local community, and it will be one of the highest ad valorem-value projects to ever come,” McCrady said. “This exciting project will result in an additional $200 million investment and an increase in revenues for Lone Star College, local schools, [Emergency Services District] No. 7, law enforcement and other entities, which rely on higher taxable values within their boundaries.”
McCrady also noted retail is planned along Gene Campbell Boulevard.
“Currently under construction are a Mexican food restaurant, day care facility and a convenience store,” he said. “Due to several nondisclosure agreements, we cannot announce companies we are in negotiation with.”
While supply chain issues have affected development across the Greater Houston area and beyond, McCrady said the ongoing challenge has also shed light on Texas’ pro-business climate.
“Texas was lucky to remain open [during the pandemic], and companies noticed,” McCrady said. “Now, domestic and international companies are seeking out land or buildings to move their products and services here and to places like our industrial park.”
