The Community Chamber of Commerce of East Montgomery County confirmed that the East Montgomery County Improvement District board received project information from Grand Texas Theme Park representatives Thursday, February 14th, stating that the closure on the property under contract in East Montgomery County, is expected to take place as soon as April 30th.

Chamber Administrative Assistant and Webmaster, Rhonda Behnken, expressed her excitement with the new development coming to the area.

“We’re thrilled to get this project in our community. This is the last unexplored frontier,” said Behnken. We’re especially excited for the tax dollars.”

Behnken said Grand Texas will be doing things in grand fashion. Located in the vicinity of FM 242 and Interstate 69, the project will include a 120-acre Texas style theme park, a water park, an 8,000-seat Amphitheater, baseball park, entertainment facilities, hotel accommodations, four restaurants, and additional facilities.

“What will set this theme park apart will be its interactive approach to entertainment,” said Behnken “There will be numerous opportunities to engage the visitors in a variety of activities like paintball, petting zoos, horseback riding, and just a whole lot more.”

Providing 1,328 construction jobs over the next three years, upon completion the theme park will create approximately the same number of jobs. The targeted groundbreaking is October 2013; opening date is slated for March 12, 2015. This unique tourist attraction is projected to attract over 600,000 initially, contributing between $33 and $42 million the first several years, and eventually increasing to 1.4 - 1.8 million visitors per year, which equates to a $334 million annual boost to the local economy. The cost of the project will be $205 and $220 million.

Representatives at the presentation included Grand Texas Chairman, Max Bachrach, and project lead, Monty Galland. Other members of the management team have worked at theme and water parks in the Greater Houston area, including the former General Manager of Astroworld, Chuck Hendrix. In a phone call to the developer, Brae Burn Construction confirmed that they would be handling the construction of the facilities.

Chamber President, Andy Dill, is reported as stating, “We are very excited to learn the details of the Grand Texas project and look forward to working with Matt and Monty as this project goes forward. This will be a great tourism draw for our area, create jobs, and help keep East Montgomery County moving forward economically.”

The New Caney and Splendora Independent School Districts serve to benefit from the theme park’s ad valorem tax.

The influx of new money into a community that was stunted due to the economic downturn, should make East Montgomery County the next targeted market for business growth and development. The question will be…”How’re you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Grand Texas?”