TxDOT will make construction improvements to State Highway 5, which runs through McKinney. McKinney City Council has taken the following steps to ensure a park under the highway is included.
Terri's Gelato Cafe owner, T.J. Reilly, likes the location of his business in the historic downtown of McKinney but he's not sure he'll be able to stay.
"We signed the lease last October and then a few months later we got a notice they were looking to tear us down," Reilly said.
The building is part of five that could be taken over to move forward with a proposed park under State Highway 5 between Louisiana and Virginia streets.
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"We just hope that the city will be able to compensate us or help us move to a new location,” Reilly said. “But it's going to be hard because we are just establishing ourselves and we are going to have to establish ourselves again."
Tuesday night, McKinney city council voted to move forward to hire a consultant for design work of the park called the Lower 5 Plaza.
McKinney Assistant City Manager Kim Flom says this is just a small step in a very long process.
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"Now that we have a path, and TxDOT is one of our partners, we need to give them a little bit of information so they can incorporate it into their work,” Flom said. “Then we'll come back in with the major design work in the end."
Flom added the park, which is about two acres, would enable people to move easily from the historic downtown area to the developing Mill District.
"Highway 5 has historically been a divider for us,” Flom said. “This project connects two parts of the city that are incredibly important and it connects them with a marquee open space and a way for pedestrians to cross from one to the other without ever having to see a car."
The projected timeline has land acquisitions and business relocations by the state starting in 2025.
A time frame of uncertainty for Reilly.
"It's a little disheartening because I know we are putting all this hard work in, and we don't know what's going to come next,” Reilly said. “They could get us kicked out and that's it."
To learn more about the Lower 5 Plaza Project from the City of McKinney click here.
