McKinney Council Adds 16 Acres to Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number One, Pushing TIRZ to 996 Acres

MCKINNEY, Texas. The McKinney City Council on June 16, 2026 conducted a public hearing and approved an ordinance amending the boundaries of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number One by adding approximately 16 acres of land. The ordinance text states that, prior to the amendment, TIRZ Number One consisted of approximately 980 acres; after the addition, the zone consists of approximately 996 acres. The motion to approve was made by Council member Franklin and seconded by Council member Beller, and carried on a recorded vote.

What a TIRZ is and how it finances development

A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone is a financing tool authorized under Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code. Inside the zone, the city, county, and other participating taxing units agree to capture future property tax growth above a baseline and dedicate that growth to public improvements that benefit the zone. The baseline value is set when the zone is created.

As property values rise inside the zone, the incremental tax revenue is deposited into the TIRZ fund rather than going to the participating taxing units' general funds.

Expanding a TIRZ adds new property to the captured-increment pool. Property already inside the zone keeps its existing baseline. The newly added property gets its own baseline set at the time of inclusion, and future increment growth on that 16 acres flows to the TIRZ rather than to the city's general fund.

Why McKinney has been growing TIRZ Number One

TIRZ Number One is McKinney's principal downtown and corridor reinvestment district. The city has used the zone to fund streetscape, infrastructure, and public improvements that support private mixed-use redevelopment. The Petition for Inclusion in TIRZ No. 1 Boundary, included in the June 16 packet, was filed by the property owner of the 16-acre tract seeking the public-improvement support that TIRZ membership enables.

Two complementary actions also appeared on the same agenda: an ordinance amending the FY 2025-2026 Annual Budget appropriating $174,439 in the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 1 Fund to support a Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreement and Project Plan Implementation Agreement with The Parks Church for a vacant or underutilized project at 129-131 S. Tennessee Street.

That action moves TIRZ Number One dollars to a specific downtown infill project.

The trade-off cities weigh on TIRZ expansion

Tax increment financing accelerates infrastructure that the city argues would not happen without the public participation. The cost is that increment captured inside the zone is not available to fund general city services.

For McKinney's expanded zone, the policy question is whether the public investments funded by the new increment will catalyze enough private development inside the zone to deliver public benefits, including sales tax, employment, and post-zone-termination property value, that the city would not have captured otherwise.

Sources

McKinney City Council Regular Meeting agenda and packet, June 16, 2026, item 26-0584 (Legistar meeting detail). TIRZ No. 1 Boundary Expansion Ordinance; Texas Tax Code, Chapter 311.