McKinney, TX

McKinney saved many of the older buildings when they refurbished the downtown area, so it has a nice historic look. There is a wide range of shops and professional offices around and near the square including antique shops, spas and salons, art and music galleries, restaurants, an "eco boutique", law and financial firms, mortgage and insurance offices, a winery and a large ski shop???

The old county court house pictured below is now the McKinney Performing Arts Center. A new courthouse was built in the suburbs near Central Expressway/US 75, the main North Dallas freeway.

In the picture below the building on the left with the red awning is the Spoons Café, my favorite downtown restaurant. They have very good Migas and Breakfast Tacos. There all kinds of restaurants downtown, everything from an expensive Rick's Chop House to Café Malaga, a little tapas restaurant.

The historic old bank building below is now home to a combination antique and home furnishings/accessories gallery.

Churchills British Restaurant & Pub below is a nice cheap restaurant. It has British classics like Steak & Ale Pie and Shepherd's Pie and of course it has Texas favorites like Migas Burritos and Stuffed Jalapenos.

This the original Collin County Prison. Now it's a lawyer's office. Somehow that seems appropriate.

My opinion of a new town is always influenced by their library. The downtown McKinney library passed this test – it's a very nice library. An additional new library will open soon in the suburbs.

There are many prosperous neighborhoods in the McKinney suburbs and many new housing developments continue to be built with houses costing everywhere from $150,000 to $1,200,000

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Even the newest most luxurious apartments are cheap compared to Fairfax VA: The new Greenhaven apartments start at $775 for a 1-bedroom/1-bath up to $1415 for a 3-bedroom/2-bath.

Looking at all of the new construction of houses, shopping centers and hospitals, you would never know there was a recession. The new Methodist hospital below is almost completed and a Baylor Medical Center will be built in the future.

One very nice new shopping center is Eldorado Plaza about three miles outside McKinney near Central Expressway/US 75. Cafe Brazil, a small coffee house located in this shopping center, is another favorite restaurant of mine.

Croation Village is a beautiful new shopping center being built further out in the suburbs. Like many of the buildings in this area, limestone and other native materials are being used in the construction.

The imposing building below is Samson's Italian Grill restaurant.