McKinney residents will be asked to vote on using city funds to pursue commercial service at the McKinney National Airport this May.
WFAA reported on Feb. 13, that the city of McKinney continues to push forward with its project of acquiring commercial service at the McKinney National Airport.
The project proposes the construction of a 144,000-square-foot airport terminal, along with a 15-acre aircraft apron and 2,000 parking spots.
Projections suggest the expansion would result in four new gates offering four to 20 flights a day and would open by 2026.
By 2040, the project aims to offer 16 gates with as many as 40 daily departures.
The expansion comes with an estimated price tag of $300.7 million. Commercial service would be offered as an alternative to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and the Dallas Love Field Airport.
Earlier this week, Local Profile reported McKinney city council voted unanimously in favor of a bond election for the project. The vote puts a $200 million bond package on the ballot for the election in May.
If approved by voters, the bond package would support two-thirds of the airport project. The remaining $100 million would be sourced through federal, state and local grants.
Residents have spoken out in opposition to the project in the past, citing project projections about the airport’s potential economic impact and passenger use as biased, and investing in this project would not be the best use of city funds.
Before the project can move forward voters must approve the bond package in the May election. From there the city will be required to complete an environmental assessment. According to city officials, steps have already been taken to begin the assessment.
Once approvals have been reached, the city will then need to secure the bond and grant funding.
Project coordinators hope to begin construction in 2024. Once construction is complete, airport officials will need to secure agreements with airline carriers before commercial service can begin.
City officials expect the airport to become self-funding within seven to 12 years.
