Nicholas Sakelaris DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL
McKinney Expects $25M Airport Purchase to be Corporate Magnet
October 29, 2013
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  • The City of McKinney is very close to purchasing the facilities and taking over operations at the Collin County Regional Airport at McKinney.

    The city already owned the land at the 745-acre airport while George Schuler owned the buildings, which includes a terminal building, a handful of corporate class hangers and about dozens of smaller hangers for hobbyists, general aviation and maintenance.

    McKinney started negotiating with Schuler to purchase the buildings about eight or nine months ago, Gray said. The sale is expected to close Nov. 8.

    McKinney expects the $25 million purchase to pay off by combining it with its economic development and corporate recruitment strategy. The city can tout the airport to corporations looking to relocate and offer integrated deals on fuel, hanger leases and other incentives.

    “It provides convenience to the corporate citizens of McKinney,” said Jason Gray, McKinney city manager. “Having a corporate class airport within close proximity is convenient for companies that deal with people who have jets even if they don’t.”

    McKinney has long supported the airport by building a new, wider runway, a taller control tower and new taxiways, Gray said.

    When the federal sequestration threatened to shut down traffic control towers in March, McKinney officials said the city would fund the tower to ensure smooth operations.

    They ended up not having to do that but because the Texas Transportation Commission unanimously approved $2 million in temporary, emergency money to keep the McKinney tower and a dozen others around the state operating.

    http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/10/29/mckinney-expects-25m-airport-purchase.html