McKinney moves forward on Gateway hotel plans

by Dan Eakin of Star Local News

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The hotel already has a partially-built structure in place.

This partly finished structure is all that exists of the hotel-events center at the "Gateway Project" site near U.S. 75 and Sam Rayburn Tollway in McKinney.

The McKinney City Council on Tuesday gave City Manager Jason Gray the nod to proceed with plans for a $35 million hotel at the Gateway development site, located on the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 75 and the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

Following a lengthy discussion, the council gave Gray permission to follow up on his proposals for the city to partner with Beck Group, the company that worked on the original construction at the site, and Champ Hospitality, to build a new hotel using the partial structure that was abandoned due to financial difficulties a few years ago.

After more than 120 days of study, Gray proposed a four-story structure rather than the five-story structure that was approved before, and also a 20,000-square-foot conference center rather than the 59,000-square-foot conference center that was originally proposed. Conference center space would include about 8,000 square feet for a ballroom.

Gray told the council that the smaller proposed conference center would still accommodate up to 1,000 people and should meet the needs of the city.

He also is proposing that the new hotel contain 185 rooms rather than 222 rooms, which was originally planned. He said the hotel could be built in such a way as to add a fifth floor in the future should it become feasible.

While the city would be the major investor in the hotel, about $18 million would be needed from public allocations.

In other action Tuesday night, the council voted 4-3 to deny approval of truck scales at the Quik Trip which is to be built on the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 75 and Wilmeth Road.

Quik Trip representatives had asked the council to rezone 7.48 acres on the site from a Planned Center District to a Planned Development District to allow a truck weighing station to be added to the site plan.

District 2 Councilmember Geralyn Kever said she opposed the scales because she believed they would result in increased traffic, which would in turn create safety concerns and cause wear and tear on the roadways.

Mayor Brian Loughmiller, Mayor Pro Tem Travis Ussery, Councilman David Brooks and Kever voted to deny the plan that would allow truck scales while council members Roger Harris, Don Day and Ray Ricchi voted in favor.

The council did approve a variation to allow Quik Trip to have larger and taller signs than the sign ordinance allows. The council is planning a review of the sign ordinance in the near future.

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