McKinney | August 2022

HISTORY Ice House east of city’s downtown comes down after multiple assessments

Ice House Options considered for the

Project developers Lake Flato + Parkhill presented three options as alternatives to tearing the building down but ultimately decided upon demolition.

BY COLBY FARR

around McKinney. Though initial concepts from architecture firm Lake Flato + Parkhill included the Ice House as an event space, further assessment and inves- tigation revealed extensive structural issues, according to city reports. The evaluation team found struc- tural concerns including evidence of water leaking down the building interior and exterior, Shelton said during the presentation. The team found exposed rebar in some parts of the ceiling, and the roof had become disconnected from the building’s walls. Sunlight can be seen shining between the roof and walls, and the facility also sported cracks several bricks deep. “How this thing’s being held up is a little bit of a question,” Parkhill Community Director Scott Nelson said. There were also issues with pollu- tion on the site, Shelton said. If the city requested the developers

OPTION 2 Remove unstable roof and add support structure Estimated cost: $2.26 million

OPTION 1 Demolish sections of roof, exterior brick and structure to enlarge openings Estimated cost: $2.6 million OPTION 4 Demolish building and add a new “iconic pavilion” Estimated cost: $820,000 • Demolish building • Add landscape • Add new “iconic pavilion”

OPTION 3 Remove top half of the building and add new “roof pavilion” Estimated cost: $1.72 million

Construction crews demolished the McKinney Coal & Ice Co. Building in early August, in spite of some objec- tions from residents. McKinney City Council members discussed alternative options to keep- ing the decades-old McKinney Coal & Ice Co. Building, commonly known as the Ice House, as part of the Municipal Community Complex project during a work session July 19. Assistant City Manager Barry Shelton presented a report detailing an evaluation team’s structural assess- ments on the Ice House conducted during 2021. McKinney voters passed a $50 mil- lion bond proposition in 2019 in order to fund a new municipal complex, according to the city of McKinney’s website. The current facility is not big enough to house the city staff with additional space for administrative and parks employees currently rented

City Council decided upon Option 4.

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SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

redesign the municipal complex to include the Ice House, it would set the project’s timeline back by five to eight months, he said. Council members agreed that it was not feasible to incorporate the Ice House into the new city hall design. “It’s a sad decision to say no, but it’s

not a hard decision for me,” Council Member Patrick Cloutier said. Developers are more than halfway complete in the construction docu- ments phase for the new municipal complex, Shelton said. A ground- breaking for the project is anticipated in October.

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