McKinney City Council is sizing up sending $21 million from the McKinney Economic Development Fund to developer Cole Cannon to help build a surf lagoon project.
The Cannon Beach surf lagoon and resort hotel development spans 35 acres and sits on one of the last large undeveloped areas of land in city limits; it’s also set to have its first phase completed late next year. The surf lagoon development is currently under construction, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
McKinney officials on Tuesday will consider handing out the sum. The Cannon Beach development is a partnership between Cannon, the city, the city’s EDC and the McKinney Development Corporation. It’s expected to create 700 jobs and attract 400,000 annual visitors.
Total costs for the project are expected to come down at $200 million, according to the outlet. City marketing materials state that the surf lagoon will also feature a skate park, a movie theater and other assorted social spaces as well as dining and shopping.
Other surf lagoon projects in Texas have struggled to be completed, with a few notable exceptions. The Austin Surf Club, a surf park and condo community that’s being developed by surfing legend Kelly Slate and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Discovery Land Company recently had to pause construction as the project faced $4.6 million in construction liens.
The 333-acre Austin Surf Club in the eastern suburb of Del Valle featured pre-sale buyers like Academy Award-winning Austinite Matthew McConaughey and NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees, who played high school football for the Austin Westlake Chaparrals.
iLand Development Group has struck out twice with Leander city officials for its $1 billion lagoon-centric mixed-use project, and faced construction liens as well in 2024. Little work was done on the northwest suburban Austin site since the project was greenlit in 2021.
Other lagoon or surf development projects seem to be chugging right along. The Desperado, a 450-acre master-planned community from Waco Surf located outside of the Waco city limits, is expected to complete its first set of homes in summer 2027. The development centers around an already-existing, locally-beloved surf park.
— Hunter Cooke
Read more
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