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Aug 27, 2008 9:38 pm US/Central
McKinney Expansion Costing Some Business Owners
McKINNEY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Downtown McKinney has what many cities are trying to create: a pedestrian friendly shopping destination. McKinney even has historic bragging rights to 160-year-old buildings and outlaws like Frank and Jesse James.
The McKinney Square now has a hotel that's expanding because of demand. Thanks to a bond election, more than $2 million of improvements are under construction, which will make it possible for lots of outdoor dining.
The City of McKinney is hoping to cater to affluent shoppers when it finishes improvements to its historic downtown square. But the wait for the construction to end has been tough for some business owners.
There are about a dozen restaurants on the Square, and they've all been affected by the barricades, the road closures and the dirt flying during this project.
Steffano Birch says his restaurant income has dropped 40 percent. "We have those sleepless night. You don't worry about getting fired. You worry about staying in business in times like this," he said.
Birch took pictures from the front door of his restaurant so city officials could see the atmosphere during dinner hours. Birch says he's asked the city to keep the streets clean and accessible during construction, but his employees have used hoses to move dirt away from his front door.
"A cleaner job site would have been, would still be, nice," he said.
We asked the city about these concerns.
"Construction is messy and not convenient most certainly, but we've heard that the shops are doing quite well," said Coco Good, City of McKinney. "Some have experienced a downturn, but it's unclear whether that's related to the economy or the construction or different factors like that."
The project is scheduled to be completed in one month.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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