The McKinney Performing Arts Center has gone dark as one of downtown McKinney’s most recognizable buildings enters a major renovation expected to reshape the venue from the inside out. Housed at 111 N. Tennessee St. inside the former Collin County courthouse, the arts center closed to the public on Feb. 1, with construction beginning the next day on a project carrying a construction price ceiling of nearly $9.2 million. For audiences, performers, and downtown businesses, the shutdown is more than a temporary inconvenience. MPAC has long served as a civic anchor, pulling theatergoers, concert audiences, and community groups into the center of town. The renovation is meant to preserve that role while updating the building’s infrastructure, improving accessibility, and creating new public-facing spaces that give the historic property a broader role in McKinney’s cultural life.
What city leaders actually approved
The clearest verified number tied to the project is the guaranteed maximum price approved by City Council in early February: nearly $9.2 million. Some outside coverage has described the broader effort as a $10 million renovation, which likely reflects the larger all-in project in rounded terms rather than just the construction contract itself.
The city has also confirmed that the approved funding package includes $261,749 in contingency funds, a notable detail for any historic rehabilitation where hidden conditions can surface after work begins.
Why this is more than a routine facelift
The city’s renovation page describes a broad scope that includes HVAC, electrical, roofing, plaster repair, drainage, elevator work, ADA-related improvements, restroom upgrades, and theater updates. Community Impact also reported plans for more comfortable seating, a metal-and-glass entrance canopy, and other infrastructure improvements aimed at making the building function better as a live-performance venue.
MPAC occupies a building with a layered history. The old Collin County courthouse is not just another municipal structure. It is one of the architectural signatures of downtown McKinney, and the renovation pitch is built around preserving that identity rather than smoothing it away.
The most striking part of the concept is how deliberately the design leans into the building’s courthouse past. According to the city, the project will restore the original 1930s paint palette, bring historic courtroom railings forward in front of the stage, add period-inspired signage throughout the building, and repurpose the former judge’s bench as a bar feature inside the theater space. The basement is also slated to become a public art gallery and studio space for local art organizations.
What the closure means right now
The closure is already changing how the venue fits into daily downtown life. The city says the building and its public restrooms will remain closed through fall 2026, and parking on Tennessee Street will also be affected during construction. Annual downtown events are expected to continue, but MPAC itself will be out of service for months.
MPAC has functioned as a dependable home for community performances, concerts, civic gatherings, and cultural programming in the center of McKinney. When a venue like that disappears from the calendar for most of a year, the disruption is real even if it is temporary. Groups have to adapt, audiences have to follow them elsewhere, and nearby businesses lose the kind of pre-show and post-show traffic that helps animate a downtown entertainment district.
The city has emphasized the long-term payoff more than the short-term disruption, and that is understandable. In the best-case scenario, McKinney emerges with a more flexible and better preserved venue that can attract audiences more comfortably and support a wider range of uses. But the interruption is part of the story too. A project like this asks residents to accept a lengthy pause now in exchange for a stronger cultural asset later.
The timeline residents should watch
The city’s published timeline is straightforward. Funding for the renovation was approved in February 2025, the Texas Historical Commission approved the project in fall 2025, the building closed to the public on Feb. 1, and construction began Feb. 2. The current target is completion in fall 2026, with Community Impact reporting Byrne Construction’s proposal indicated the work could finish by Nov. 20.
A high-visibility bet on downtown McKinney
At its core, the MPAC renovation is a bet that preserving an old courthouse can still be part of building a modern downtown. McKinney is not treating the structure as a relic to be maintained at a distance. It is trying to turn it into a more active cultural engine, one that can host performances, tell local history, and give artists more room to work and exhibit in the heart of the city.
Whether the renovation is ultimately remembered as a smart reinvestment or an expensive interruption will depend on the reopening. If the finished building delivers the improved experience city leaders are promising, MPAC may come back not only preserved, but more central to downtown life than before.
