Downtown McKinney’s Iconic Water Tower Undergoes $4.5M Restoration

Collin County News

June 16, 2025 Maverick Tax Guardians

McKINNEY, TX — June 13, 2025 – The historic Chestnut Elevated Water Storage Tank an iconic fixture in downtown McKinney since 1953 is set for a significant restoration. In a unanimous June 3 vote, the City Council approved a budget amendment and construction contract for the $4.5 million rehabilitation project.
Project Scope

Structural repairs, removal of lead paint, remediation, and repainting
Programmable LED lighting, enhanced site landscaping, irrigation, and paving
Design began in March 2023. A $500,000 grant from the McKinney Community Development Corporation will help fund the lighting portion.

Funding & Bidding History

An initial engineer’s estimate pegged the cost at $2.63 million. However, only one bid submitted by Blastco Texas Inc. was received in both 2024 (~~$5 million) and 2025 (~~$4 million).
To accommodate the higher bid, the city evaluated three options:

Full project with $4.5 million total
Light-trimmed version (~$4.275 million)
Light and landscaping cut (~$3.689 million)

Council ultimately opted for Option 1, retaining all enhancements. The budget will be supplemented by reallocating $500,000 from the Hotel/Motel Fund and $725,000 from the TIRZ No. 1 fund.

Community & Council Perspectives

While TIRZ board member Collin County Commissioner Darrell Hale called the project “very expensive” for a symbolic piece of downtown, Mayor George Fuller emphasized its importance to the city’s skyline and character.
Council member Charlie Philips underscored the need to “protect your investment in downtown McKinney” by executing the full plan.

What’s Next?

Construction is expected to begin summer 2025.
Some cellular equipment (e.g., T‑Mobile) will remain under lease through 2030; unused equipment will be removed.

Source
This news article is based on information from
Community Impact – “Downtown McKinney water tower to see $4.5M restoration project”( June 13, 2025). Retrieved from:https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort-worth/mckinney/government/2025/06/13/downtown-mckinney-water-tower-to-see-45m-restoration-project/