Cobblestone walkways, an island chapel and 16th century hand-carved stonework. It sounds like something out of Medieval England.
It's actually 21st century McKinney.
Adriatica is a planned development that started almost 20 years ago and continues to grow.
The idea came after a developer from Texas was visiting the island of Broc, located off the coast of Croatia. He fell in love with it so much, he decided he wanted to recreate it here in North Texas.
You would think this would just be a pipe dream, right? Well, obviously not.
When you compare the buildings in Broc to those in Adriatica, they are almost identical. The Bell Tower and Chapel are built from the same design. And the stonework is all done the same way, hand-carved, as it is in Europe
Mandi Shing, the director at the Bella Donna Chapel in Adriatica, said while the place is beautiful, the design of the village is about much more than that.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"People are so used to having to get into their cars and drive. In Adriatica, everyone is interacting a lot more, everyone is walking from place to place," said Shing. "There is just a large sense of community here. People know their neighbors and want to know their neighbors."
The developers are not done. There is a 122-unit apartment complex under construction and plans for a medical center and more homes and restaurants.
This small village in McKinney keeps pushing into the future, while day-to-day, they enjoy living in the past.
