Planned New Caney theme park suffers setbacks, but still moving forward
NEW CANEY, TX (KTRK) -- Building a theme park from scratch is like riding a roller coaster.
Monty Galland knows. He's developing Grand Texas.
"Things are going well," said Galland from the construction site near the intersection of Highways 242 and 59 in New Caney. "They're moving along much faster now. There's a lot of activity."
Grand Texas will eventually be a more than 600 acre complex with a theme park, a water park, sports fields, hotels, restaurants and more.
"We are really building the infrastructure of a city here," added Galland. "That's what we've been doing. It's exciting for us to see some of the improvements."
Right now the infrastructure work is well underway. More than two miles of water pipe is now underground. The water system and treatment is now functional. They're clearing trees and getting ready for the next phase of development.
"I've developed projects from the ground up. But we actually had to go below the ground. We've had to put in drainage," said Galland.
Galland does admits setbacks, however. They need more electricity to handle the eventual load. But he says the water park is set to open early summer 2016. The sports fields, which Galland expects will attract youth sports tournaments, will open shortly after that. The theme park, with its Texas-sized roller coasters, is set for early 2018.
"There are so many factors and so many aspects that have to be developed, and designed, and put in place before we can put in the rides," said Galland. "It's not always evident when you drive by, but when you look closer, you start to see shiny red fire hydrants up and down 242, you stop and you realize, 'Wait a minute, there's water systems in there, and there's sewer systems in there'. And these are the things that are needed to go in the ground first before all the fun stuff gets built."
