The Port Arthur Economic Development Corp. this week approved a letter of intent from Tx. Blue Crab Co. to move from Bridge City to Port Arthur, setting itself up for some financial advantages. Now all that remains is approval from the Port Arthur City Council.

Owner Nikki Tran has run the business in Bridge City for nearly 10 years. She wants to move it under the Rainbow Bridge near the Orange County-Jefferson County line. The company is requesting a $159,000 conditional grant from PAEDC to complete its new building in Port Arthur and fully equip it.

Tran said the company would set up retail and wholesale operations at the new site. She grew up in Port Arthur and said she always wanted to come home.

The company’s proposal is to build a 50-by-60-foot porch space around the building to accommodate additional space for the business.

A letter of intent from King Crawfish Wholesale Distributor was also approved by the PAEDC. The company wants to relocate from Gulfway Drive to the Highway 73 Business Park across from the Bob Bowers Civic Center. They are requesting $530,000 in a conditional grant from the PAEDC.

Owner Javier Barajas purchased the facility and all the equipment needed to distribute his products as far as Houston and Austin.

He expanded operations in 2014 and opened a restaurant called The King Crawfish Shack.

The PAEDC also approved a letter of intent from Standard Alloys Engineered Services, which wants to relocate its shop from Vidor to Port Arthur.

The company wants to purchase 34.8 acres at the north end of the Spur 93 Business Park and is requesting the land purchase price be reduced by 30 percent from the current $57,500 per acre. The PAEDC owns the park.

The company is also requesting a grant from the city of Port Arthur for $1 million to offset the land purchase. The facility is estimated to cost $15 million and will add 10 new jobs from 2018 to 2020. All other funds to support the project will be sourced through KSB America, a pumps and pumping equipment supplier.

Richard Martinez, president and managing director for the company, said it has been owned by KSB since 1926. They purchased a machine shop in Vidor in the mid-1980s. The shop flooded and the company wants to move the facility to Port Arthur and build a state-of-the-art facility.

Lastly, Lamar State College Port Arthur’s agreement with the PAEDC involving the school’s commercial driver’s license program was approved. Under the agreement PAEDC will increase its funding for the program from $40,000 to $60,000 a year.

The increase is because of more demand in that field.