Mister Kalski, representing the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), told the McKinney City Council and the MEDC board on Oct. 28 that the organization has supported about $1.5 billion in capital investment and 3,000 new jobs over the past 12–18 months and is overseeing a pipeline he estimated at $1.3 billion with another 5,000 potential jobs.

The update, given during the council’s single agenda item — 25-3326, a MEDC update — outlined recent project wins, inventory of MEDC-controlled land, workplace and innovation initiatives, and performance metrics including return on investment and incentive practices. The presentation concluded before an executive session; no formal policy actions on the MEDC report were taken after that session.

The reported projects that MEDC highlighted included new or incoming private investments the presenter identified as Cannon Beach, Renan (a battery manufacturer), a JW Marriott, Sysicom at 121 District, and Maverick Power, which the presentation described as a fast-growing company relocating to McKinney. The presentation also cited a large wire-manufacturing investment described as “Acura Wire” acquired by Prismian and a major insurance-sector employer referred to in the talk as “Global Life.” MEDC said it controls about 250 acres of developable land, including a roughly 9-acre site in District 121 and more than 40 acres at Lake Forest, and land east of the airport adjacent to a planned terminal.

Mister Kalski described MEDC’s strategy as organized around five pillars — attract, grow, innovate, lead and engage — and said the organization seeks to pair that strategy with “white glove” business retention and expansion services. He identified Director Madison Clark as leading the business retention and expansion team and noted an expanded staff including an analyst, Eric Rodriguez, who has reviewed decades of MEDC data to help prioritize targets.

On innovation, MEDC said it has an Innovation Fund that provides between $50,000 and $200,000 (with the ability to scale to $500,000 in some cases) in non-equity capital to startups that agree to operate in McKinney for at least three years. MEDC reported it has funded 49 startups and approved two more during the meeting, citing a total evaluation of nearly $500 million in follow-on capital and roughly 1,000 projected jobs tied to the fund’s portfolio. MEDC reported a 2025 median wage figure of about $109,000 on incentive applications (up from about $75,000 in 2020) and said it is attracting higher-wage employers.

Performance metrics presented by MEDC included: an estimated $22 returned for every $1 of CapEx incentive provided by the EDC, a CapEx incentive percentage typically under 5% (compared with a stated national average of 7–10%), an incentive payment target of $15,000 per job when companies create jobs, a leads-to-projects conversion rate of about 15%, a traditional-project win rate of 29% (13% for innovation projects), a median project life cycle of about 19 weeks, and a reported 73% success rate for the innovation fund’s portfolio companies. MEDC said it had 55 active agreements on the books at the time of the presentation.

MEDC also described program growth and engagement activities: an Innovation Exchange rebrand to bundle the Innovation Fund, a new 6,000-square-foot collaboration space adjacent to MEDC’s office to support startups and visiting companies, and a partnership with Plug and Play (a Silicon Valley accelerator) that MEDC said has increased referrals into its fund from 7% to about 20% since April. The presenter said MEDC was reaccredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in September and recognized staff with regional awards.

Council and board members offered brief remarks, with Chairman Lochmiller noting the MEDC board and staff serve “at the pleasure of the mayor and council” and that council input will be important to the strategic planning process required by MEDC’s bylaws. The presenter asked the board and council for feedback on launching a strategic plan update for 2026–2030 and for support on workforce development and office inventory needs; no specific policy motion or funding decision on the strategic plan was taken at the meeting.

The meeting recessed into an executive session after the presentation; the board and council reported returning from executive session later with no substantive action announced. The EDC board then moved and seconded a motion to adjourn (mover: Mister Helsley; second: not specified in the record) and adjourned. The City Council likewise moved to adjourn (motion by Councilman Lynch, second by Councilman Franklin) and the council’s adjournment carried on a recorded 5–0 voice vote.

No ordinance, resolution, contract award, budget action or other formal policy decision related to MEDC’s programs was made on the record during the meeting; the presentation served as an informational update and a prompt for future strategic planning and potential follow-up on workforce development, airport-area land uses and convening space needs.