McKinney mayor
Mayor Brian Loughmiller was elected as mayor in 2009 and again in 2013 after serving six years on the McKinney City Council. He has seen the city rise to No. 1 on Money Magazine's Best Places to Live list and the completion of one of the city's longest construction projects—the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center. Now, with the hotel project completed, Loughmiller said he is focused on the growth of the city and the completion of the US 75 expansion project.
What do you feel makes McKinney the best place to live in the U.S.?
I think the main thing we focused on this year was the completion and progress of some major projects—including the widening of US 75. Also, we have a very low unemployment rate, our housing is affordable, our school districts are highly rated and we have a lot of good businesses here. People who live here are also very positive about McKinney.
With all of the corporate headquarters and big businesses moving into the area, how is the city prepared to handle that growth?
That's a good question because we are prepared for the growth and have been for the past several years. If we go back to 2010 we really talked at length about developing a corporate center, enhancing the airport as well as the areas of development that are now under construction.
We wanted to be proactive and have the proper infrastructure in place, and I think that's the No. 1 thing companies look at when they look to relocate. I think the big challenge for us, planning for the future, is to get some infrastructure on the north side of town north of US 380. But we are planning for that and just approved a 10-year capital improvement plan that has $100 million worth of roads, three new fire stations as well as expansion at the airport, and those are projects we will need to complete in order to stay ahead of the growth.
