The City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 20, agreed to split $1 million in early design costs with a development team for a sports and entertainment complex on about 300 city-owned acres, and denied a permit for an auto repair shop that city staff and the planning commission had backed, according to action records posted on the city's Legistar meeting portal.
The six council members recorded on each vote were Justin Beller, Patrick Cloutier, Gere Feltus, Rick Franklin, Bill Cox and Ernest Lynch. The meeting minutes have not yet been approved.
Sports complex moves to design
The council voted 6-0 for a memorandum of understanding with HD Sports & Hospitality LLC and Parkhill, Smith & Cooper Inc. The staff report places the land generally east of Lake Forest, west of Taylor Burk and south of Bloomdale, and the agreement describes possible sports, retail, entertainment, restaurant and mixed commercial uses.
Under the agreement, the city and the development team each commit $500,000 toward preliminary design, according to the staff report, with the city's share coming from the parks construction fund. Design milestones are to be met during the 2027 budget year, and staff expects a development agreement to follow in late spring or early summer 2027.
The city and the McKinney Community Development Corporation finished buying the land in 2021. Talks with an earlier developer ended, and the city issued a request for qualifications in December 2025, drew four qualifying responses and interviewed three firms in March. The council approved exclusive negotiations with Parkhill, which partnered with EdgeRock Development, doing business as HD Sports & Hospitality, on April 6.
Zoning and permits
- Local's Auto: The council voted 5-1 to deny a specific use permit for minor vehicle repair at the southwest corner of Wilmeth Road and North Hardin Boulevard, next to homes in Painted Tree Village North. Franklin cast the vote against denial. The planning commission had recommended approval 7-0 on Sept. 22, and staff said an 84-foot building setback from the homes, well beyond the 30 feet required, and bays facing away from them made the site compatible.
- Integrity 1st Auto Repair: A similar permit on the east side of Coit Road, about 650 feet south of Virginia Parkway, passed 6-0.
- North Custer Road annexation: A request to annex about 32 acres east of North Custer Road, roughly 1,800 feet south of County Road 125, and zone 5 acres for local commercial use and nearly 27 acres for townhomes was tabled indefinitely on a 6-0 vote. Staff had recommended approval. The land, now in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, is in Celina ISD.
- West Erwin Avenue: After a public hearing, the council voted 6-0 to postpone a request to rezone about a tenth of an acre at West Erwin Avenue and Coleman Street from single-family to townhome zoning.
The council also voted 6-0 to award a construction contract to A&C Construction of Irving for improvements at Wattley Park.
The online records do not explain the reasons for the denial or the postponements.
