McKinney Air Center Construction Nears Completion. What This Means for Residents

McKinney National Airport’s fixed-base operator, known as the McKinney Air Center, is nearing completion on construction to accommodate the growth that has and continues to come to the region, said Director of the McKinney National Airport Ken Carley.

The center is a one stop shop for planes providing fuel, storage, concierge services like rental cars, catering and customs for pilots and passengers. The total revenue generated by the fixed-base operator (FBO) — which mostly includes fuel sales and hangar rents — in fiscal year 2022 was $14,223,722, up from $6,410,660 million in 2016, according to Carley.

The new 17,000 square foot air center will provide a Class-A space for passengers and flight crews to use when they fly into McKinney National Airport (TKI). The space includes offices, conference rooms, spacious waiting areas for passengers and amenities for flight crews. Oftentimes, flight crews will spend 6-8 hours at TKI while the passengers they fly in and out of town spend time in the city, so this space will be one where they can work and relax while they wait, Carley said.

“When someone gets off an aircraft and walks through that building and this is their first impression of the City of McKinney it’s going to be impactful,” Carley said.

Construction of the FBO terminal started in September 2019. While construction was halted twice with the bankruptcy of the two separate contractors, construction is anticipated to be complete in August with airport staff expected to move into the facilities shortly after.

Generating revenue

McKinney National Airport generated $3.5 million of ad valorem tax revenue in tax year 2022, with the FBO being the catalyst that helps drive the activity that generates the revenue. Of that $3.5 million, $797,699 went to the city, $2,317,325 to McKinney ISD, $265,809 to Collin County and $141,620 to Collin College.

The airport has an economic output of at least $213 million, Carley said. Before the city brought the FBO services in house, the airport’s economic output was around $44 million.

The city purchased the FBO and its facilities in 2013 from a private operator which allowed the city to own the revenue-generating portion of the airport. Since 2013, the FBO has generated $16 million in capital contributions which are moved into a construction fund to pay for capital projects like hangars.

Such projects give TKI the potential to base more taxable aircraft at the airport and help generate more revenue for the airport, which, in turn, adds to the ad valorem tax revenue that benefits the city’s school district and community college.

Accommodating growth

Being able to provide pilots and passengers with a quality facility will help the air center continue to be successful especially as the area faces growth pressures, Carley said.

The project cost about $6 million, Carley said. In 2020, the city issued taxable certificates of obligation with the approval of council to pay for the project.

“The building we’re in now doesn’t have the capacity to function as it should for the growth we’re experiencing today,” Carley said. “The growth in the region is moving further and further North, so we’re building facilities that are going to be able to serve that growth today and into the future.”

The building adds about 2,000 square feet of leasable office space, and as staff vacates about 2,100 square feet of current administrative office space, that will open up additional leasing space as well.

On any given day between 20-30 corporate aircrafts operate out of TKI and use the FBO services. The airport has 400 total daily operations.

“It’s providing space that you have to have if you’re going to be in the business of serving corporate aircraft,” Carley said. “The passenger is going to feel like they’ve walked into a high end hotel lobby. You’re not in a holding room with rows of chairs sitting around waiting for your flight, you’ve got some very nice spaces to be in while you’re coming and going.”

Further, it will provide more space for the airport’s customer service representatives and line service folks to do their jobs.

“We’ve had people that are really intent on providing excellent customer service, but we haven’t been able to give them a good building to work out of. Now we have that last piece of the puzzle,” Carley said. “We’ve had that customer service piece, and now we’re going to round out the experience with a building that matches what these guys have been doing all along.”

In addition to the FBO, TKI is in the design phases of adding another 40,000 square foot hangar to the property. The airport also plans to construct a U.S. customs facility that will receive international arrivals and is constructing a 15,000 square foot airfield maintenance building to house crews and equipment that maintain the airfield.

“We’re really adding this to accommodate the growth and allow the airport to grow unrestricted in the future,” Carley said.

©2023 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.