Presidential Billiards and the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) broke ground Friday, April 15 on a new 10,000-square foot warehouse as part of an expansion project at the East Montgomery County Industrial Park in New Caney. The company currently has a 35,225-square foot building, which includes office space and warehouse space, at the industrial park.
Presidential Billiards, led by President Elaine Gerber, offers a variety of fine products, including a large selection of pool tables and game room furniture encompassing models from entry level to heirloom quality and featuring exotic hardwoods and hand carving. The company manufactures components in Zimbabwe in family-owned factories. The products are assembled and then shipped to the facility in the industrial park, warehoused and then sold to retailers across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The need to expand Presidential Billiard’s storage capacity came to a head last year. Business increased by 20 percent from 2014. The company was moving more product but had no where to store it. Gerber said she struck up a deal with neighbor Gates Engineered Lubricants to house some of the overflow products at their facility.
“We’ve been here eight years, and I really didn’t think that we would have to build on within that time, and yet, here we are,” said Gerber.
The new warehouse will just be a shell with no plumbing. Phase two of the company’s expansion includes another facility on the property with additional office space and a display area for products. If everything goes well, Gerber says they could be looking at taking that project on in another five years or so.
Financing for the warehouse expansion project was made possible by the East Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation,
a subsidiary of EMCID.
“Elaine is a business owner who has consistently looked at expansion opportunities and taken advantage of the market, and she has continued to excel in
her industry,” said Frank McCrady, President and CEO of EMCID.
The Board voted to give the fire department $300,000 annually, retroactive to 2015, through 2016, and to provide up to $300,000 per year of additional funding through 2021 if new, annual ad valorem tax revenue from the Grand Texas development doesn’t reach $300,000 per year. The measure was approved by the Board at its regular meeting held May 12, 2016. Two previously approved grant proposals in March and April authorized $1.2 million through 2018 and $1.5 million through 2019, respectively.
The grant proposal stipulates that the fire department utilize the first payment to upgrade to code Fire Station #156 on Morgan Cemetery Road in Splendora — which is not currently providing 24-hour service or staffing — to make it ready to be staffed around the clock, at a cost of about $56,000. Approximately $125,000 of the first payment will be used to pay for replacement of half, or 15, of the fire department’s aging self-contained breathing apparatus systems for firefighters, and the balance of the funds will be utilized to buy other necessary equipment and improvements to the station to ensure it is operational 24 hours a day.
Additionally, the funding measure requires MCESD #7 to reimburse EMCID the cost of the upgrades to Fire Station #156, or about $56,000, in the event the City of Cleveland annexes the property, bringing this funding back into the EMCID territory to be utilized by the East Montgomery County community.