PROJECTS ON THE RADAR With one almost $17 million project near completion, several other projects worth New terminal: Construction began: 2018, to end May 2022 1 Runway extension: construction to begin late 2022, to end late 2024 2 2
The new terminal was originally scheduled for completion last year, but was set back with supply chain issues, Smith said. When it opens, the airport’s sta will move over to the new termi- nal, freeing up space in the McKinney Air Center that can also be leased. How- ever, all of the newly created space is already spoken for, Carley said. “We have people waiting to lease the space pretty much immediately,” he said. In addition to the new terminal, the airport added 10 newexecutive hangars over 2.2 acres in September. The project was privately funded by the developer, who has already sold the hangars to tenants. The projects created an esti- mated economic impact of about $6.6 million to the community, airport doc- uments show. Moreprojectsonthehorizon This summer construction will start on Cirrus Aircraft’s new maintenance and repair facility, which will add an estimated $14.5 million in capital improvements to the airport over about 4 acres, Carley said. The project will serve as an administrative facility for the aviation company that makes and sells aircraft and personal jets. After opening a satellite o ce inMcK- inney last year, Cirrus will gain space for aircraft storage, service hangars and a two-story o ce with the new facility. “Cirrus Aircraft conducted a nation- wide search to identify the most ideal locations for its newest facilities and ultimately determined that [McKinney National Airport] was best suited for our current needs,” a Cirrus Aircraft
millions more are lined up. The new development will add to the airport’s economic impact. Map key
Cirrus aircraft maintenance and repair facility: construction to begin spring 2022, end 2023 3
Corp 10 hangar: construction to begin 2022, end 2023 4
Upcoming projects In progress
Customs facility to process international ights and passengers: construction to begin 2022, end 2023 5
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Taxilane rehabilitation and relocation to provide extra space on airport taxilanes: rst phase of construction to begin 2024, second to begin 2025 6
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is now outdated. “We’ve had millions of dollars of investment since then,” Car- ley said. “The rate of growth is becoming steeper and steeper, and the next time we do [a study], it’ll probably be even larger.” The airport has plenty of space to grow, with about 40 acres on its west side left to develop, Carley said. Looking ahead 20 years, the economic impact from the airport could be “in the billions,” he said. “It’s really not just the city of McKinney impacted. It’s regional, and the bigger it gets, probably the more regional that economic output becomes. That’s exciting. There’s not a lot of [general avia- tion] airports in the state that are prob- ably growing at the rate we’re growing,” Carley said. These projects and the new termi- nal all help the airport to convince more companies to choose McKinney National Airport over other destina- tions. As the airport grows and devel- ops, that helps retain, grow and attract more companies and corporate part- ners, Mayor George Fuller said. “The airport bene ts every single res- ident, every single business in the city of McKinney,” Fuller said. He explained that corporate jets and planes, which are “very expensive,” pay property and school taxes, with the added bene t of not creating any extra burden of sending children to the school systemor driving on the roads. “Themore that inanimate objects like that pay a property tax and school tax, the less parents, homeowners, business owners are paying,” Fuller said. “So
there’s a huge bene t because we’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars of value.” A‘jewel’ for theairport Since 1979, the city of McKinney has owned McKinney National Airport. In 2013 the city also purchased the McKin- ney Air Center. This one-stop shop for planes and pilots provides fuel, plane storage and concierge services such as rental cars and catering. The 15,000-square-foot center func- tions as the current front door to the airport for pilots and travelers. The new terminal that will be completed this spring will not only add 2,000 square
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SOURCE: MCKINNEY NATIONAL AIRPORT COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
feet, but will also be a better space to operate out of, said Andrew Smith, president of McRight-Smith. “It’s laid out a little better. The other one was getting dated. It’s been around for 30 or 40 years,” Smith said. “The foyer in this one is really attractive. … You walk in
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“THE AIRPORT BENEFITS EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT, EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS IN THE CITY OF MCKINNEY.” MAYOR GEORGE FULLER
spokesperson said in an email. “We con- sidered several fac- tors in selecting our locations, including customer experi- ence, airspace and airport facilities, workforce, cost of operations and eco- nomic incentives.” Documents from the airport show that an estimated 50 full-
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“We can’t seem to build hangars fast enough. As soon as one is complete, it’s already fully booked,” Carley said. “We’ve had people who have been on a waiting list for more than a year to get space here.” The demand at the airport, which provides general aviation services, such as private business ights, ight train- ing andmedical transport, is one indica- tor of its success. A 2018 Texas Aviation Economic Impact Study released by the Texas Department of Transportation found that the airport at the time had an economic impact of more than $212 million annually to the city of McKin- ney and the region. This is almost ve times the eco- nomic impact the airport had from the previous study that was published in 2011. Carley said the $212 million gure
and it’s a big, attractive open foyer with very high ceilings, lots of light coming through.” Ceiling-to- oor glass windows on the terminal’s second oor will provide expansive views of not only the imme- diate runway, but the rest of the air eld as well, Smith said. “I think it’ll be a real jewel for the air- port once it’s done,” Smith said.
time jobs are expected with the new facility. The project is privately funded, withCirrus leasing the land fromthe air- port. The McKinney Economic Devel- opment Corp. also o ered $1.4 million in incentives for the project, Carley said. Another project the airport has in its sights is creating more general aviation hangar space to store aircraft. The last general hangar project it completed in
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