McKinney unveils new City Hall plaza and seeks Historic Preservation Board help on permanent exhibits

City of McKinney staff outlined progress on the municipal complex project and asked members of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board to help finalize a rotating historic exhibit in the new City Hall breezeway.

The presentation, led by Barry Shelton, described steps taken to recognize the site's industrial past after the city removed an unstable ice house that formerly sat on the plaza footprint. Shelton said the city salvaged brick and columns from the structure for reuse on-site and built a low brick wall in the plaza to mark the ice house footprint. "We wanted to celebrate that history," Shelton said. He described the demolished structure as "not sound" and noted the cost to stabilize it exceeded what the city council chose to take on.

Shelton told the board the plaza and promenade are intended as a community gathering space that will tie the East Side to downtown, mentioning nearby historic sites including the flour mill, the grain elevator site (now a brewery) and Old Settlers Park. He said design goals were to "leverage and celebrate the history and surrounding community" and to create a flexible…