The McKinney City Council is looking ahead to future development of the McKinney National Airport.

At a Dec. 5 city council work session, Assistant City Manager Barry Shelton presented an update on how the McKinney airport operates and what projects are currently underway.

In September, the city held a groundbreaking for a new customs base, as well as the completion of 6,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of hangar space, a runway extension of 500 feet, completion of a permanent maintenance facility and a jet maintenance and repair facility.

According to Shelton, the airport generates the equivalent of 400 single family homes in property taxes that goes to the city, district and county. One aircraft is worth 35 homes, he said. The total taxable value of the property is $186 million.

Shelton added that the airport’s operational expenses are funded primarily by fuel sales, ramp fees, land and hangar leases, in addition to transfers from other budgetary items and grant funding. All revenue generated by the airport must stay in the airport, Shelton said in his presentation. To fund capital improvement projects within the airport, the city also has an airport construction fund, which takes money transferred from the airport operations fund and tax increment reinvestment zone No. 2 funding, which encompasses the airport, in addition to federal grants. To remain eligible for federal grants, the city must issue a masterplan every seven to 10 years. Projects that require a grant must be included in the masterplan.

In a 2018 economic development study, the airport generated $212 million in total output, generated $64.3 million in payroll and contributed 993 jobs to the community.

Looking at current projects, the city is currently working on a 500-foot runway extension to the north, which is slated to break ground in early 2024. Collin County contributed $30 million to cover infrastructure costs, Shelton said. The city is also working on extending its Taxiway Alpha, which will allow the airport to house more and larger aircraft, Shelton said. The city received a little over $8 million in grant funding, which was more than anticipated. The city will contribute $959,690 from the airport construction fund.

A private aviation company, Cirrus has invested $14 million into a new development within the airport to for aircraft maintenance.

Looking to the future, Shelton said that the airport has around 35 acres left to develop in the west. The city recently bought more property to the east to further grow the airport. As the airport nears buildout, the city will focus on the 123 acres purchased on the southeast portion of the property. With the extension of Spur 399, the city is expected to see further growth within and outside of the airport, as the road allows for better connection between US 380 and State Highway 121.

At the end of the discussion, Mayor George Fuller said that the city will continue discussions to possibly bring commercial passenger air travel to McKinney. In May, residents voted down a bond item that would have authorized $200 million in general obligation bond money for constructing a commercial terminal at the McKinney National Airport. At the Dec. 5 meeting, Fuller said he took that to mean that residents did not authorize the city to issue $200 million in debt to build the terminal. 

"I am committed to exploring what it might mean to bring commercial passenger service to McKinney National Airport in ways that makes sense and does not indebt the city or taxpayer," Fuller said.