English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in McKinney, TX

A North Texas environmental group has filed a lawsuit seeking to void the environmental assessment for the McKinney airport expansion.

The North Texas Conservation Association filed a petition in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the Texas Department of Transportation’s environmental assessment for the airport expansion this week.

The environmental group alleges that TxDOT’s environmental assessment, which included a finding of no significant impact on the environment, failed to meet standards set in the National Environmental Policy Act. The conservation group is asking the court to remand the assessment back to TxDOT for a more thorough review.

Steven E. Ross, the secretary and general counsel for the North Texas Conservation Association, said the environmental assessment doesn’t adequately address several environmental concerns, including how the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary will be impacted.

“There's just a multitude of things that could be done, and we don't think the city has thought through those,” he said.

The city said it will “vigorously defend the findings” of the environmental assessment and seek to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The lawsuit is the latest controversy for the airport project, McKinney voters struck down $200 million in bond funds for expanding the city’s regional airport for commercial use in 2023. The city is still moving forward with the project using other funding, including sales tax dollars.

Ross said the McKinney city council is rushing the airport expansion, which is scheduled to start construction in June and finish sometime next year.

“The city seems to be rushing through this in order to comply with the airline's timeline rather than taking a good hard look at the impacts that this expansion will have on the environment,” he said.

McKinney Mayor George Fuller said TxDOT's assessment already addresses the environmental group's concerns. Fuller said the lawsuit is a political stunt by the organization's president, Paul Chabot.

“He, of course, formed that entity for this very purpose to sound legitimate as he lacks the respect and legitimacy in the community to file it in his own name,” he said.

Chabot called Fuller's comment unprofessional and said the mayor is trying to make the issue personal.

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City officials in McKinney hope to make the airport the third commercial airport in DFW, after DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field.

MCKINNEY, Texas — The $72 million project to expand an airport in fast-growing Collin County is "cleared for takeoff" after the McKinney City Council this week approved a slate of construction contracts.

Construction on the McKinney National Airport expansion is set to begin in June, with the first commercial flights set to take off from the airport in 2026. City officials have said they hope the McKinney National Airport becomes the third commercial airport in DFW, following DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field.

“We are cleared for takeoff,” said McKinney Mayor George Fuller in a statement. “This project has been years in the making, and now, with this milestone, McKinney is positioned to deliver the convenience of commercial air service to our community and region. We’re building more than a terminal, we’re building opportunity for the future.”

Among the contracts the McKinney City Council approved this week was a nearly $58 million contract with Swinerton for design and construction of the McKinney National Airport commercial terminal and a nearly $2.8 million contract with Garver for architectural and engineering services for the project.

McKinney voters rejected a $200 million bond proposal to fund the airport expansion in 2023, as our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The funding for the project will come from a variety of sources -- including sales taxes from the McKinney Economic Development and Community Development Corporation funds, the city's utility construction fund.

Fuller said funding for the airport has also come from federal, state and county investments. He said the city's received $88 million in federal, state and county investment, with an additional $30 million under consideration.

"The voters said no to $200 million in property tax back debt for a larger terminal. We listened, we asked staff to find another way for us to develop commercial service, and come up with a strategy that would allow us to mitigate risk by proposing dual-use improvements on the east side funded by sales taxes – all with strong opportunity for federal and state reimbursements," Fuller said during the meeting Tuesday. "Make no mistake, this is not all on the backs of McKinney taxpayers."

McKinney has entered into an economic development agreement with a developer to construct a JW Marriott resort in the city.

Construction is scheduled to begin by the close of 2026 and end by mid-2029. The resort is set to be built on an 8-acre plot at Collin McKinney Parkway and Van Tuyl Parkway in the Craig Ranch neighborhood. The city plans to offer economic grants to the developer, Delaware-based Craig Ranch Luxury Hotel SPE Owner.

Additional municipal incentives may be under consideration later this summer. The project is set to receive a $25 million grant, a $10.3 million loan from the McKinney Community Development Corporation, and a $2 million grant from the McKinney Economic Development Corporation. Hospitality firm Ashford is participating in the project.

“This is a transformational project that reflects the City of McKinney’s commitment to thoughtfully planned growth and economic development,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said in a statement. “With the airport’s upcoming expansion into commercial service, our extended partnership with The CJ CUP Byron Nelson tournament, and major entertainment attractions like the VENU Sunset Amphitheater and Cannon Beach: Surf and Adventure Park, McKinney is quickly becoming a regional and national destination. A luxury resort like JW Marriott is not just welcome, it’s needed.”

VENU will be an open-air music venue with a membership club in partnership with Troy Aikman, and Cannon Beach will be a resort with a large surf pool. The Tournament Players Club Craig Ranch in McKinney hosted the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this May and will continue to host the tournament through 2030.

According to the agreement, the developer plans to build a JW Marriott resort featuring 290 guest rooms and 45 for-sale condominiums. The planned hotel and conference space will be at least 51,575 square feet, and amenities will include a fitness center, a pool, multiple restaurants, pickleball courts, and access to the TPC Craig Ranch golf course. Residents of the condos will have their own deck with amenities separate from hotel guests. Non-guests will also be able to access the amenities for a fee.

The city’s agreement includes a stipulation that Craig Ranch Luxury Hotel SPE Owner, its parent company, and its affiliates will not boycott Israel or energy companies and will not discriminate against firearm entities. Since 2017, Governor Greg Abbott has passed multiple resolutions prohibiting Texas governmental entities, such as city councils, from doing business with companies that participate in these boycotts.

Editor's note: This story has been update to clarify that Council member Geré Feltus spoke during the McKinney City Council meeting.

City officials have signed off on new zoning for a 785-acre mixed-use development called Huntington Park which will be located north of US 380 in McKinney.

McKinney City Council members voted 5-1 to approve the zoning during a June 3 meeting. Council member Charlie Phillips voted against the motion.

The new development plans for a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, commercial space and urban multifamily units. The project is proposed by Dallas-based Billingsley Company, a development company that’s built multiple master-planned communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

About the project

The new zoning will allow for development of multifamily residential, single-family residential and commercial space and open space on about 785 acres north of US 380, according to city documents. The land uses would be broken into several different pods.

Single-family residential homes are planned for the west and south sides of the proposed development, according to a staff presentation. Urban multifamily units will be developed near the center with commercial space planned on the north and east sides.

There are triggers for developing the multifamily component. Single-family development will include a mix of townhomes and detached houses, according to the presentation.

The framework

Development of the multifamily component will be timed based on certain criteria. Site plans for any multifamily development cannot be submitted until the following criteria are met:

What they’re saying

City Planning Manager Caitlyn Strickland said staff were still supportive of the zoning request which was tabled by council members in May. Since the item was tabled, additional clarity has been added to the trigger for developing multifamily units as it relates to construction of the US 380 bypass, according to city documents.

Lucy Billingsley, partner at the Billingsley Company, said company officials have worked with staff over the past few weeks. If the zoning were denied, the company intended to sell the land off to single-family developers, she said.

The Billingsley Company’s master plan for the development gives it a chance to develop almost 800 acres with urban and commercial uses, she said.

“We are creating a place,” she said. “That is what we as a company love to do.”

What council members are saying

Council member Patrick Cloutier said the project was a benefit to McKinney and that he was grateful that project officials worked with city staff to bring it to the city.

“I’m grateful that you’re going to put such a magnificent product on the ground that it’s going to chase off all the drive-by builders,” Cloutier said.

Council member Geré Feltus said she was initially hesitant about the project because of its inclusion of plans for multifamily development. With the planned development zoning however, the city has some control over what is a great product, she said.

“I do appreciate your project, the quality of the project—what you have planned,” Feltus said. “I think it’s going to be beautiful. “I think it is much better than the options that we would face if we turned this project down.”

Feltus referred to Senate Bill 15 and Senate Bill 840 when talking about the project. Both bills have been passed by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives and have been sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

SB 15 would allow property owners to construct single-family homes on lots as small as 3,000 square feet without approval from the city. SB 840 would allow multifamily development in any office or commercial zoning districts by right.

While Feltus was initially hesitant about the project, those bills have shifted her stance on the project, she said. These are things McKinney will no longer have the ability to control without a planned development district zoning.

“Both of these bills have been signed by the senate and by the house and will be signed by the Governor,” Feltus said. “Our ability to control development is being removed even more.”

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McKinney City Council have given staff the go-ahead to pursue an economic development agreement for a resort hotel that will be built in Craig Ranch.

Council members approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the agreement during a June 3 meeting. The agreement provides economic development incentives for a 290-room JW Marriott Resort Hotel with over 50,000-square feet of conference space.

In a nutshell

The hotel developer, listed as Craig Ranch Luxury Hotel SPE Owner LP in city documents, plans to develop the resort hotel on a roughly 8-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Collin McKinney Parkway and Van Tuyl Parkway.

The hotel will be branded as JW Marriott Resort McKinney Craig Ranch, according to city documents.

The hotel will feature various amenities, according to city documents, including:

Other amenities include valet and self-parking in a structured parking facility, a gift shop, a business center and guest access to Lifetime Fitness and Spa and TPC Craig Ranch. The project will also feature 45 for-sale condominiums with a separate amenity deck that are constructed above the hotel structure, city documents state.

Quote of note

"This is a transformational project that reflects the City of McKinney's commitment to thoughtfully planned growth and economic development," Mayor George Fuller said in a statement. "With the airport's upcoming expansion into commercial service, our extended partnership with The CJ CUP Byron Nelson tournament, and major entertainment attractions like the Venu Sunset Amphitheater and Cannon Beach: Surf and Adventure Park, McKinney is quickly becoming a regional and national destination. A luxury resort like JW Marriott is not just welcome, it's needed."

The framework

Under terms of the agreement, construction must start by Dec. 31, 2026 and be completed by April 30, 2029, according to city documents. Incentives attached to the agreement include reimbursements from sales taxes, property taxes, hotel occupancy taxes and other operational grants.

Total reimbursement to the developer can range between $13 million-$18 million. The agreement also outlines decreases to the incentives if the final project cost totals less than $324 million, according to city documents.

The agreement can be read in full via McKinney’s website.

According to a city news release, the McKinney Community Development Corporation and the McKinney Economic Development Corporation will consider additional incentives for the project during future meetings later this summer.

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