There is very sketchy information about what occurred between DR Horton and Hank Haney other then DR Horton backed out of the deal at the last minute, presumably due to the latest reports of real estate sales cooling off across the country. Not only does Haney have a course that looks like a war zone and is estimated to cost $1,000,000 to become operational again, there is a BIG tax issue. The Collin CAD raised the market value of the Hank Haney Golf Ranch from $3,341,400 in 2005 to $5,314,000 in 2006. The property taxes paid in 2005 were $85,000 and the 2006 tax bill is $131,000. The CAD had to know of the pending sale, which was reported to be $5,600,000 and raised the assessed value based on the report, or possibly a contract was presented during the appeal process to the appraisal district. According to the articles I have seen, Haney’s revenue from the golfing fees was between $100,000-$125,000 a month. If that was the case, the Ranch as a running business had revenues in excess of $1,300,000 a year, which would indicate a value of $8,000,000-$10,000,000 for his company. Due to the location, the highest and best use for the Ranch would be vacant land to be developed, yet at the proposed sale price of $5,600,000 that would equate to over $100,000 an acre, which seems to be very high for such a large tract. The Story Book Ranch, which is the other large tract near Haney’s is a total of 18.50 acres and is currently assessed at $88,000 an acre. For what it is worth, this whole deal is a BIG mess for Haney; I hope he has a good Lawyer on retainer.

There is very sketchy information about what occurred between DR Horton and Hank Haney other then DR Horton backed out of the deal at the last minute, presumably due to the latest reports of real estate sales cooling off across the country. Not only does Haney have a course that looks like a war zone and is estimated to cost $1,000,000 to become operational again, there is a BIG tax issue. The Collin CAD raised the market value of the Hank Haney Golf Ranch from $3,341,400 in 2005 to $5,314,000 in 2006. The property taxes paid in 2005 were $85,000 and the 2006 tax bill is $131,000. The CAD had to know of the pending sale, which was reported to be $5,600,000 and raised the assessed value based on the report, or possibly a contract was presented during the appeal process to the appraisal district. According to the articles I have seen, Haney’s revenue from the golfing fees was between $100,000-$125,000 a month. If that was the case, the Ranch as a running business had revenues in excess of $1,300,000 a year, which would indicate a value of $8,000,000-$10,000,000 for his company. Due to the location, the highest and best use for the Ranch would be vacant land to be developed, yet at the proposed sale price of $5,600,000 that would equate to over $100,000 an acre, which seems to be very high for such a large tract. The Story Book Ranch, which is the other large tract near Haney’s is a total of 18.50 acres and is currently assessed at $88,000 an acre. For what it is worth, this whole deal is a BIG mess for Haney; I hope he has a good Lawyer on retainer.

Dallas-Top 10 Foreclosure Market

Top 10 foreclosure markets 8 Business 2.0

Dallas-Top 10 Foreclosure Market

Top 10 foreclosure markets 8 Business 2.0

Starbucks on the Square?

Don Day has renovated 20 commercial-historic buildings in downtown McKinney over the past 10 years. Day said the once booming antique business on the square has fallen on hard times primarily, he thinks, because of eBay.
But hard times for antiques mean opportunity for other businesses. Day said a Starbucks coffee shop, an 8,000 square foot steakhouse and a 14-room boutique hotel are in development for the square.
“The future of downtown is bright so long as we keep evolving and adapting to our modern society and so long as we preserve the historic charm that makes downtown what it is,” Day said.

Haney Golf Ranch

Apparently D.R. Horton bailed out of the deal at the last minute.

Hank Haney's Golf Ranch....Gone

The 2006 Stonebridge Halloween spooktacular is this Saturday at the Beach Club.Activities are planned for all ghosts and goblins so be sure to dress up in your costume,
bring bags for trick or treating and get ready to have some spooktacular fun.
Market Street will be sponsoring hot dogs, chips and refreshments, Wingstop will be
providing chicken wings and Valley Crest will provide the catering service.

The pictures of the "Keller Williams" building show some of the details being added to the building. Note the oblisks by the railing of the staiway and the random sculpture placed on the entry column. I believe this sculpture's final destination is slated for the top of the bell tower. You can see that the SFR is well underway. I would think that they should be starting the exterior veneer, most likely stone. Zin Zen seems to be hopping whenever I drive by, has anyone had a chance to visit yet?

Two Things

1.) The P&Z hearing this evening regarding the Galleon Dubrovnik has been tabled until further notice.
2.) Zin Zen now has a website up and running.
Zin Zen Wine Bistro

The owner of the first home ??

Based on the information on the permit, it appears that the owner of the first residential home being built on Seaside Lane is owned by DFA Limited. After further research, it appears that the partnership is that of Don Day. Don Day apparently owns a lot of real estate (enter DFA LTD) in the historic downtown McKinney square and currently lives in a space above one of the antique shops. According to the article in the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Day ran against the current Mayor of McKinney in the last election and lost.

The Harbor district residential lots have been split out and now there are 81 total accounts or tracts for the land. If you follow the link below, and type in sb harbor you can view the lots. There has not been a value assigned to these lots yet at the appraisal district. It will be interesting to see what values these lots will be selling for . I know that the waterfront lots are commanding $100,000 +.

TaxNetUSA: Collin County Tax Roll Search

Blackard acquires 10 acres....

Per the COLLIN CAD site Mr. Blackard has acquired approximatley 11 acres just North of 380 between Custer and Lake Forest.See map It currently has an agriculurtal exemption and possibly a small house on a one acre tract. Possibly he plans on building his home here, or possibly holding it for an investment.

The fate of the Galleon Dubrovnik

The 10/24/06 Planning and Zoning meeting holds the fate of Blackard's boat.

06-421SUP*
PHConduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Pogue Engineering & Development Company, Inc., on Behalf of SB Harbor Market Joint Venture, for Approval of a Specific Use Permit to Allow a Boat in the Harbor at Adriatica (Galleon Dubrovnik), Approximately 4.32 Acres, Located at the Southeast Corner of Mediterranean Drive and Adriatic Parkway.

McKinney Texas

These pictures show the progress on Dr. Buchanon's new office.

Fall Festival

Looking for a fun activity this weekend? Storybook Ranch at Custer and Stonebridge has a great line up. See you there! Storybook Ranch: Public and Private Events

The Promise

It appears that work on "The Promise",the dove sculpture that will be the centerpoint of the Adriatica harbor district has been abandoned.I have not seen Matthew on site for months.This is his website The Promise and there doesnt appear to be any activity recently.Does anyone know what is going on with the project? It seems to me that Mr.Blackard would want to get this sculpture complete asap since it is such an incredible piece of art.

I have noticed that one of the regular visitors to the site is located in Voorhees Township, New Jersey. Voorhees Website. If you are reading this, please leave a comment and tell me how you found my site and what keeps you coming back.

Response:

Mr. Wingo -- first, let me say that I truly enjoy your site and the constant updates not only on Adriatica, but on McKinney in general. I am not actually in Vorhees. I believe my employer's servers are routed through NJ. This is a pretty common occurrence based on what I've seen and heard in other on-line forums. My family and I live in Brightwood, Stonebridge Ranch, about one mile from Adriatica. Sorry for the confusion -- you might consider this little fact when assessing geographical locations of your other visitors. Question off the subject: Do you know what they're trying to rezone for at the corner of Virgina and Hardin? I noticed this is the second time in the last few months they are requesting rezoning.Again – keep up the good work on your blog site. What happened to the links to your other blogs? Craig Ranch and Xstream Thrills??? --

Visitor of the day!

As of 5:00 today, the visitor furthest from McKinney Comes from Den Haag, the Netherlands! You can learn more about Den Haag at the following link. Denhaag.com

The framing of the first residential property is progressing rapidly.

Hawks above McKinney, Texas

Very strange display of large flock (1,000 ??) of hawks above McKinney, Texas 10/13/2006

Hawks?

Around 6:00 today there was a very strange formation of hawks above McKinney in Stonebridge Ranch. I noticed them when I was getting in my car. There must have been thousands of them, extremely high up in the sky. The trail seemed to strech for miles. I got a video camera to tape this and will post it asap. It is very hard to see the birds, but if you look hard enough you will see them swirling in the sky. It is Friday the 13th.

The Urns have been moved on to the slabs of stone at the main entrance to Adriatica. Progress on the first residential property is in the framing stage.

Adriatica Developments

The commission recommended approval of a special-use permit and site plan for an 8,500 square-foot veterinary clinic in the Adriatica development of Stonebridge Ranch with large outdoor dog-runs and a two-story aviary. The design includes a large castle-like two-story tower with turrets at the top. The dog runs will be enclosed by seven-foot stone walls and fencing, and the aviary will not be visible from the ground-level.The veterinary clinic is the latest in series of proposals relating to the Adriatica development. The site plan for the harbor district was approved in last week’s city council meeting.
The commission also recommended approval of a rezoning request relating to parking and signage issues. City planners tabled a request for a special-use permit for a large ship to sit off the harbor and serve as a coffee shop and ice cream parlor. The developer is still working out a maintenance agreement for the ship.
Proposals for the veterinary clinic and the parking and signage issues will go to the city council on Nov. 7.

Site problems

Please excuse the mess this evening, apparently my hosting company is down...

Below is the rendering for the proposed Tera Kastel pet hospital and boarding facilities.

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING

The P&Z Comission has tabled the hearing on the proposed Galleon Dubrovnik until the October 24th meeting.

What a great day! We were in historic downtown McKinney today and got to visit The Mom and Pop Corn Company. What a great place! The shop not only has every popcorn flavor you could want, it has homemade fudge and every old time candy you had as a kid. It met Tim, one of the owners, and this is the first Sunday that they have been open. If your in the area, be sure to visit. The rockyroad fudge was incredible...

Damaged Goods playing at Zin Zen on October 14th.

Judy's Book

I ran across Judy's Book website after reading a review of a restaurant that appeared on Google Maps. These reviews originate from the Judy's Book site. There is little or no information on the restaurants in Adriatica, so I created a review site for them.You can go here to write a review of any restaurant or business throughout the country.If you have a comment about any of the tenants of Adriatica, help them out and leave a comment!!

Stari Grad is one of the oldest European towns and the oldest town on the island of Hvar - the island of sunshine, lavender and wine - which is proud of its tradition of 130 years of organized tourism. Due to its special position - it is enclosed on the one side with the land and the fields of lavender and vineyards, and on the other side it is protected by the sea - Stari Grad has a special tourist attractiveness and it is one of the most visited holiday resorts on the Adriatic

This site offers incredible lighthouses for rent in the Adriatic. Maybe Mr.Blackard needs to consider builiding a lighthouse on Stonebrige Lake??

The Zin-Zen Wine Bistro has installed its sign.Has anyone visited this bistro yet? If so, please leave a review using the comment button below.

Please note that in order to access the stories that I have linked to require you to register with that site in order to view the article***

"The Adriatica vote paved the way for the building of the harbor district, which will include a 128-foot bell tower. Plans for a 90-foot ship to be built in the harbor of Stonebridge Lake will be submitted separately to the planning and zoning commission and later to the city council. "

Read the full story here

"When the city council takes its scheduled vote on the site plan for Adriatica’s harbor district on Tuesday, it will be the culmination of years of work by Stonebridge residents, city employees and Adriatica’s unique developer, Jeff Blackard."

Supporters, who put a great deal of faith in his plans, call him a visionary, and his words and manner invite such terminology. Blackard said he’s been sent by God to McKinney. He says it without apology before residents, reporters and even the city council

Read the full story here

McKinney Towne Crossing @ Custer and 121

It appears that the new Supertarget is slated to open on October 8th. Thus far the other tenants at this shopping center include Chick Filet, Wachovia Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and per the city of McKinney planning and zoning a Taco Bell (see below)
06-456SP*
PHConduct a Public Hearing to Consider/Discuss/Act on the Request by Taco Bell of America, on Behalf of McKinney Towne Crossing, for Approval of a Site Plan for a 2,985 Square Foot Restaurant (Taco Bell), Approximately 1.02 Acres, Located Generally at the Northeast Corner of State Highway 121 and Custer Road.

Palm Beach, USA Trump's home for sale

Donald Trump's Palm Beach home makes top list price in the U.S., $125,000,000. You can view the listing here.

This 43,524 square foot French Regency-style estate has the most glamorous eight-bedroom and nine-bathroom main residence, including a large Ballroom, Library, Media Room, Billiard-Wine room, a Conservatory renovated with Venetian plastering, two additional powder rooms and top-of-the-line kitchen.
The house boasts dramatic 20-foot ceilings with eight skylights and the southern wing has been reconfigured to create an awe inspiring oceanfront master suite. Providing unparalleled luxury, this home features lush gardens, a magnificent 4,000 square foot pool, and a spa situated between the main house and the 3,200 square foot pool house, which has two-bedrooms, two baths, a living room and a kitchen.
The guest house and tennis house provide an additional eight bedrooms. The garage area accommodates 36 vehicles in addition to a separate Christmas Wrapping room, multiple storage rooms, professional laundry facilities, and ancillary staff rooms for estate maintenance functions. This property is truly Palm Beach living at its finest.