Success Stories In Retail Recruitment



McKinney, Texas, One Of The Fastest-Growing Cities Uses CommunityID^® To Maintain High Standards
You might think an affluent, fast-growing city could sit back and wait for retail development to happen. That’s not the style of city leaders in McKinney, Texas, who take a "from cradle to grave" approach to giving their residents the best quality of life possible.

Located in North Texas near the thriving cities of Plano and Frisco, McKinney is the fastest growing city in America, according to the 2000 census. With a current estimated population of 100,000, the city is expected to continue its phenomenal growth rate by adding some 10,000 residents each year.

McKinney embraces its growth and is proactive in determining its future. City leaders strive to be pro-growth, but at the same time maintain high development standards. With that in mind, they contracted with Buxton to find the best retail matches to two promising street intersections in the city. "What we liked about the CommunityID program was that it did not rely on incentives to recruit development but focused on which retailers could do well today on their own," says John Kessel, executive director of Development Services for the City of McKinney.

Less than one year after McKinney applied Buxton’s retail identification program, the city is experiencing vast retail development on all four corners of the first intersection researched and analyzed. The high-end lifestyle characteristics of McKinney residents matched the customers of many retailers including Ann Taylor, Belk, Cost Plus World Market, Lane Bryant, Linens & Things, Pier 1 Imports and Talbot's. These retailers and many more now reside at the analyzed site, resulting in more than $1 million in public revenues annually!

CommunityID has been an excellent tool for McKinney in two important ways, Kessel says. Developers use the data from Buxton to close deals with retailers and restaurants. For the city itself, CommunityID proves to be a good PR tool. "It really shows that we are invested in the business community," Kessel says. "That alone may be worth the price of the CommunityID project."

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