Cleared for takeo From the cover
The cost
The current situation
McKinney Community Development Corp. grant: $30M
The $79 million terminal and associated infrastructure that will be constructed are smaller than the original vision, Airport Director Ken Carley said. The terminal, which will begin with four gates, will have the capacity to expand to six gates, and will include onsite car rental facilities, concessions, and a 980-space public parking lot. “We’re trying to really build only what we need to kind of get the rst phase of operations going,” Carley said, noting that the rst phase of the airport will serve as a proof of concept. Avelo Airlines, a Houston-based ultra-low- cost carrier, has issued a letter of intent to provide service, starting with up to three daily ights using Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline operates at over 50 airports worldwide and ies to Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami, its website states. Negotiations are underway with multiple airlines, city documents state.
Just years after voters denied a $200 million bond measure to fund a commercial service terminal at McKinney National Airport, city leaders have reenvisioned the project and secured other funding sources that will make the project a reality. McKinney o cials broke ground on the passenger service expansion in July. The 46,000-square-foot terminal is expected to open in late 2026 and serve 200,000 passengers in the rst year of operations.
total funding committed $80.2M
McKinney Economic Development Corp. grant: $22.4M Texas Department of Transportation grant: $14.8M Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 fund: $8M City utility construction fund: $5M
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
The project’s price tag will fund the cost of the terminal building as well as associated infra- structure such as the apron to park planes and the construction of a roundabout connecting the terminal to FM 546. Project funding committed includes city funds, local grant funds and interim nancing from the McKinney Community Development Corporation ahead of city o cials securing federal low-interest loans. The Texas Department of Transportation also awarded $14.8 million in June for eastside air eld projects at the airport as part of the state’s two-year budget. In an email, state Rep. Je Leach said he was “proud to help secure” state funding to make the “transformational project a reality.“ The money can be used for airport infrastructure projects that support commercial passenger service. The terminal will “bring jobs, boost local businesses” and establish McKinney as a “major economic hub” in North Texas and beyond, Leach said. When completed, the terminal is expected to generate 360 jobs and more than $10 million in tax revenue impact in its rst year of operations, city documents state.
Expansion elements 1 New terminal and associated infrastructure 2 New Taxiway C 3 New FM 546 roundabout
722
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546
HARRY MCKILLOP BLVD.
546
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
How we got here
May 6, 2023 McKinney voters reject $200M bond proposition to fund a larger vision for the commercial terminal 21,864 voter turnout 58.69% against 41.31% for
Feb. 2024 Council members direct city sta to pursue other funding sources for the airport expansion
May 2024 McKinney Community Development Corp. and McKinney Economic Development Corp. commit a total of $5.4M for project planning and design work
Dec. 2024 Council members
Jan. 2025 Site plan approval issued for the terminal project
March 2025 McKinney Community Development Corp. and McKinney Economic Development Corp. commit a total of $52.4M for the project costs
July 2025 Construction work begins on the terminal project
Nov. 2025 Projected terminal completion and beginning of operations
rezoned 280 acres on the airport’s east side for airport- related uses
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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