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McKinney EDC details land holdings, rebrands Innovation Fund as 'Innovation Exchange' and highlights Plug and Play partnership
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Summary
At a joint session, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation outlined plans for multiple land parcels, described a rebranded Innovation Exchange that provides non-dilutive grants and workspace, and said a Plug and Play partnership has expanded startup pipelines and corporate engagement; council asked for follow-up on deal closures and timing.
The McKinney Economic Development Corporation updated the McKinney City Council on its land portfolio and a rebranded startup program on Tuesday, outlining plans for multiple downtown and airport-area parcels and describing an expanded ‘‘Innovation Exchange’’ intended to attract startups, corporate partners and follow‑on investment.
Presenter Joukowsky told both bodies that MEDC now controls or is marketing several parcels: roughly 8 acres near Highway 121 adjacent to the Denison Hotel; about 20 acres east of Stacy (the ‘‘East of the creek’’ area); a 46‑acre Lake Forest site under an RFQ; roughly 1 acre at the former City Hall for a potential multi‑story office with ground‑floor commercial uses; about 6 acres near the Sheraton held in partnership with the city; and 183 acres east of the airport that are being master‑planned for infrastructure and marketing. "We hope the first quarter of this year, we have some momentum on that and we can start moving forward with getting some vertical construction on there," he said.
Joukowsky said MEDC is rebranding its Innovation Fund as the McKinney Innovation Exchange to present ‘‘an ecosystem for inspiring startups and small businesses’’ that pairs capital, programming and physical space. He described non‑dilutive grants that require a three‑year commitment to grow in McKinney, and said MEDC’s portfolio included 53 companies; companies that grow to 10 employees may be eligible to ‘‘earn up to $500,000’’ under the current incentive structure. He added that MEDC has leased roughly 6,000 square feet next to its office to create common space for startups and visiting investors.
Joukowsky also recognized senior vice president Michael Talley after the city of Plano announced Talley’s selection as Plano’s executive director of economic development; Joukowsky said, "You cannot replace Mr. Talley," and thanked him for his mentorship and service to McKinney.
David Steele, introduced as director of Plug and Play, described the accelerator’s role as a partner. Steele said Plug and Play runs enterprise AI and fintech programs, connects startups to a global network of about 600 corporate partners and writes checks that commonly fall between $100,000 and $250,000, while noting it can make investments up to about $2 million for a single prospect and that some industry‑specific funds will write $1 million to $2.5 million. "We're willing to give that to one prospect," Steele said when asked about the $2 million figure.
Steele said the partnership has driven application growth and pipeline activity: he cited a recent cohort of roughly 70 startups, described engagement from global brands and universities (including TCU, SMU, UNT and UTD), and said capital raised by accelerator participants climbed from about $300,000 after the first batch to roughly $11.3 million by year two. He and Joukowsky emphasized that many prospects remain in exploratory stages, and that converting interest into relocations or completed deals remains a workstream; Joukowsky and Steele said precise counts of ‘‘closed’’ relocations would require follow‑up and data from the Innovation Exchange team.
Steele also named several corporate engagement efforts under way, including an under‑contract conversation with Caterpillar and active engagements with NVIDIA and Lenovo. He announced McKinney Innovation Week for the first week of April to bring cohorts, investors and corporate partners to curated meetings in the city.
Council members asked for detail on recent completed deals, the number of conversions from a cited pool of 1,048 interested prospects, and specifics about the investment pipeline. MEDC and Plug and Play said they would follow up with more granular closing and conversion data; in the meeting they described an active backlog (about 250 conversations) and indicated that many prospects remain in an exploratory or vetting stage rather than being finalized relocations.
The council thanked MEDC and Plug and Play for the update. A motion to adjourn the council work session was made by Mayor Pro Tem Feltes and seconded by Councilman Franklin; the moderator called the vote and declared the council adjourned.
Questions and follow‑up: MEDC and Plug and Play committed to provide more detailed deal‑by‑deal and conversion metrics on request.
