What's happening?
The largest projects are from GCP Paper USA Inc.—a paper products manufacturer—that will be opening a 566,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and a 450,000,000-square-foot warehouse. Construction on the $38.3 million manufacturing facility kicked off in June, while work on the warehouse is slated to begin in 2030.
Construction on a new Tension Steel Corporation USA industrial facility is estimated to begin in January. East Montgomery County Improvement District officials are also talking with Catalyst Trading Company about building a warehouse, said Kelley Mattlage, EMCID’s vice president and chief communications officer, via a Nov. 5 email.
“It may seem like a lot of activity at once, but really it’s not,” Mattlage said. “These are big projects with companies spending millions, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars. They take time, they change scope, and these are really projects that take years to develop on our end and theirs.”
Meanwhile, EMCID’s nearby dog park was expected to open over the summer, but the project has been delayed due to some scope revisions.
Put into perspective
Traffic can be bad along FM 1485 and Gene Campbell Boulevard, which is the intersection where the industrial park is located, said Isabella Diaz, a 15-year resident of New Caney. Diaz said big trucks from the industrial park, but also from other construction sites in the area, sometimes clog up the roadways or seem to increase potholes.
Mattlage said growth always has pros and cons.
“The industrial park has been there since 2002. ... Developers have always known we have a business park that keeps expanding by hundreds of acres,” Mattlage said. “You have a choice to live there or not.”
Measuring the impact
More than 1,000 people are already employed by companies within the industrial park, Mattlage said. Almost 400 more jobs are expected to be created by the newest projects.
“[The projects] also increase the tax base for the county,” Mattlage said. “While EMCID receives no benefit from property values, Montgomery County, our school districts, and others do.”
Representatives for Tension Steel Corporation USA opted not to comment on this report. Officials with GCP Paper USA Inc. and Catalyst Trading Company did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
