McKinney Picks Developer to Launch Industrial Building Project

The City of McKinney has selected a Dallas commercial real estate firm to build a new industrial park.Hunt Southwest, was picked from a field of four developers vying for the chance to build in the University Business Park near U.S. Highway 380 in McKinney.The McKinney Economic Development Corp. asked developers for proposals to build a speculative light industrial development project.The McKinney EDC said its authorized sale negotiations with Hunt Southwest to buy a development site for the buildings."Initiating this speculative light industrial development project in McKinney supports the competitiveness strategies outlined in our five year strategic plan," President Darrell Auterson said in a statement. "We were extremely impressed with the caliber of development proposals received and while selecting one firm was no easy task, we believe this first project is only the beginning for what we believe will be some significant industrial product development for our future."Other firms bidding for the project included Dallas-based Bradford Cos.T. Preston Herold, vice president with Hunt Southwest, said his firm plans to build 400,000 square feet of industrial space in McKinney."We believe in McKinney," Herold told the McKinney EDC board before his firm was selected. "We've been searching for sites here for two years."He said the firm wants to get its projects out of the ground by December.Herold said Hunt Southwest has already contracted to purchase another industrial development site in McKinney of 13 acres where it plans a 200,000 square foot building.Hunt Southwest is owned by the family of the late oilman and sports team owner Lamar Hunt. The company currently has three industrial developments in Fort Worth.McKinney isn't the only Collin County city working on new industrial projects.Frisco is developing a $300 million industrial park on Preston Road to attract more business to the city. The office and warehouse project called Frisco Park 25 is expected to have 2.2 million square feet of buildings.  Continue reading...