McKINNEY, Texas — City staff on Jan. 7 updated the McKinney City Council on a reworked east-side development plan for McKinney National Airport that would cost about $72 million and include a 45,000-square-foot passenger terminal, parallel taxiway and roadway work to connect the site to FM 546.

The proposal, presented by airport staff and consultants, is a reduced-phase plan intended as a proof-of-concept to allow commercial airline service to operate from McKinney National Airport (TKI). "Airlines started reaching out to the airport in 2019, unsolicited, asking about the ability, and what it would take for them to operate out of McKinney National Airport," said Ken Carle, airport director.

City and consulting staff said the plan responds to the failure of a 2023 bond proposal for a larger terminal; the earlier concept was a roughly $300 million terminal funded in part by property-tax-backed bonds that voters rejected. "We pared down the program," Barry (Shelton) said, presenting a line-item estimate that totals about $72,000,000 and that focuses on day-one infrastructure needed to host airlines and general-aviation uses.

What the plan contains and why it matters

Consultant Mitchell McAnally of Garver described the proposed site layout as a greenfield buildout on the airport’s east side. "There currently are no taxiways, no public roadway infrastructure," McAnally said. The design presented includes a parallel taxiway (Taxiway Charlie), ramp and apron space for aircraft, an initial terminal sized for five gates in a full buildout (with day-one construction likely smaller), rental-car and rideshare areas, baggage claim and a security screening point.

The project team emphasized that the terminal would use ground-loading gates rather than jet bridges and that the initial day-one footprint will be scaled to actual airline demand. "What ultimately gets built day 1 is going to be dependent on what the actual true need is," McAnally said.

Traffic and access

A major point of discussion was how vehicles would reach the terminal from FM 546. Consultants presented an intersection-control evaluation that recommended a roundabout at the primary access point on FM 546 as the option with the least long-term impact to level-of-service compared with a signal. "They agreed that the roundabout would would be the best option at this at this time," Carle said, summarizing Garver's submission to TxDOT.

Council members pressed staff on interim conditions before a planned state highway spur (Spur 399) is completed. Gary Graham, director of engineering, said TxDOT has fully funded portions of Spur 399 and expects segments to be let around 2027–2028, with overall timelines possibly extending to about 2030–2031. Staff acknowledged short-term congestion and said they have asked for traffic simulations that include nearby signalized intersections and the proposed roundabout to evaluate peak-hour operations and queuing.

Funding, timeline and risk

Barry summarized funding options the city is pursuing and the remaining funding gap. Key items presented:
- Total preliminary project estimate: $72,000,000 (reduced from an earlier $300 million concept).
- Terminal footprint presented in renderings: about 45,000 square feet (full buildout shown for five gates; day 1 likely smaller).
- Early design funding already contributed: $1,700,000 from one board and $3,600,000 from another for east-side programming and design work.
- Proposed financing: a TIFIA loan (federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) for up to 49% of eligible costs (staff cited roughly $30,000,000 as the TIFIA component), an Economic Development Corporation (EDC) grant request of $22,400,000 for eligible items (roadway, parking, underground infrastructure), and possible use of TERS 2 fund balance of up to $8,000,000 to fill gaps.
- Staff noted potential interim interfund loans that would be reimbursed by expected FAA or TxDOT grants when those awards are received.

On passenger fees and revenue, staff said the airport plans to apply for Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) after operations begin; the presentation described PFCs as an FAA-approved per-ticket fee that can be used to reimburse capital costs and debt service for eligible infrastructure.

Schedule and next steps

Staff said they expect to bring a pre-construction services contract for a construction-manager-at-risk to council in early February to refine costs, with construction documents completed early in 2025 and construction anticipated to begin in Q4 2026. A public hearing on the environmental assessment is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Old Settlers, with the public comment period running 30 days. The presentation noted a planned City Council resolution on the regular meeting agenda that would express council support for the site plan (the item is limited to the site plan; funding decisions would be separate) and a Planning & Zoning public hearing scheduled for Jan. 14.

Council questions and concerns

Council members repeatedly pressed staff on near-term traffic impacts and the timing of Spur 399. Several members said they supported the long-term solution but worried about interim impacts to drivers in 2026–2028 while TxDOT projects are under construction. Staff said they will perform additional traffic simulation work and continue coordination with TxDOT and county partners.

Formal action recorded for follow-up

Staff asked the council to consider a resolution to express support for the site plan so staff could transmit a clear position to Planning & Zoning; that resolution was presented on the council’s regular meeting agenda later the same day (no council vote on the resolution occurred during the work session).

Ending note

Presenters said they would return with refined cost estimates after CMAR selection and as grant-application results (FAA/TxDOT discretionary grants, TIFIA) become known. They also reiterated that the airport and city are balancing near-term operational needs with longer-term transportation projects driven by TxDOT’s Spur 399 schedule and regional growth.