HUGS Cafe seeks $970,000 from MCDC for downtown headquarters; board hears public hearing

Lauren Smith, representing HUGS Cafe Inc., presented a proposal to construct a new HUGS Headquarters in downtown McKinney, a $10 million capital project the organization says will consolidate its cafe, inclusive culinary training kitchen, classrooms, administrative offices and a rooftop deck.

HUGS requested $970,000 from the MCDC—equal to 9.7% of the total project budget—to support site preparation and horizontal infrastructure. Smith said the organization has $2.7 million committed to date, that board and staff have participated in fundraising ($220,000 contributed by leadership/staff), and that the organization is pursuing additional foundation and private sources for the remaining need. She said the group planned to break ground in 2025 and complete construction by the end of 2026, with increased trainee and employment capacity.

Board members asked whether public-facing spaces (classrooms, rooftop deck) would be available for community use and whether local education partners (McKinney ISD, Collin College) might use the training kitchen. Smith said the facility would welcome community rentals and partner programming and that the organization is open to education partnerships. The board also asked about the organization’s fundraising strategy and the use of construction bridge financing; HUGS said it has identified a private construction lender and was planning multi‑year donor pledges to repay bridge funds.

The presentation occurred as a public hearing; the board closed the hearing and reserved action for a future agenda.