Massive industrial park to locate near Houston

An Atlanta-based industrial development firm has embarked upon phase one of a 540-acre warehouse park located just outside Houston.

Construction crews will begin work on the first two structures tied to the Southwest International Gateway Business Park during the first quarter of 2020, according to Stonemont Financial Group. The business park will be located 60 miles southwest of Houston in El Campo, Texas.

The rail-served development has the capacity to house up to 8 million square feet of industrial space. The business park will have full intermodal and transload capabilities, the company said in a news release.

The project is located in Wharton County along the U.S. 59-Interstate 69 corridor. A street address for the property wasn’t made available.

The project is being co-developed with Ridgeline Property Group and Houston-based NAI Partners.

It was initially scheduled to break ground in 2018. Stonemont Financial Group was not immediately available for comment.

Phase one of the project will see the construction of two warehouses. The first will be a 125,000-square-foot distribution center that will act as a distribution center Vitro Chemicals, a subsidiary of Monterrey, Mexico-based glass manufacturer Vitro.

Vitro Chemicals said in a news release that the company chose the park for the cost savings it will realize over its current distribution channel. The company currently stores product in multiple warehouses in Laredo, Texas and then distributes by truck from there. Having a distribution center near Houston will trim the cost and time of moving product into major metro areas in Texas.

Phase one of the project will also include the construction of a 200,000-square-foot speculative warehouse.

Stonemont said one of the key selling points for the industrial site is its direct access to the Kansas City Southern Railway line that fronts the property. The company said that access allows Mexico-based manufacturers to use the rail line to ship from their factories in Mexico to the park, cutting about 250 miles off the route from Laredo.

“To deliver product to the major Texas markets, many of the Mexico-based manufacturers currently switch to another railway in Laredo, pass through San Antonio and then deal with the rail and truck congestion of Houston,” said Zack Markwell, managing principal and CEO at Stonemont Financial Group, said in a statement. “Our park establishes a new inland port that avoids all three of these time and cost headaches, allowing companies to invest more dollars in core business activities that foster long-term growth and success.”

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