Restaurant to take over former Independent Financial building
As Independent Financial leaves its long-time home on Main Street, a McKinney developer is ready to move in with redevelopment. Former McKinney City Council member Don Day announced plans to redevelop the former bank building into a fine dining restaurant Friday morning during the Denison Development Alliance's annual economic development summit.
The building was one of three downtown buildings that Day has recently purchased or is in the process of purchasing for redevelopment in the near future.
"We will essentially gut the interior and pretty much rebuild everything," Day said regarding the bank building while describing it as a $800,000-900,000 renovation job.
The announcement comes more than two years after the building and many others in the 300 block of West Main were damaged during a fire that destroyed three other properties. Since that time, the bank has operated out of a temporary building behind the main structure.
Earlier this month, representatives with the bank announced they would be relocating from the existing location to a new building on U.S. Highway 75, leaving the Main Street building vacant in the process.
For his part, Day has made a name for himself in McKinney as developer with the family-owned DFA Limited. Over the course of his career, he has renovated more than 50 historic buildings.
Day said the new restaurant would focus on bringing fine dining options to downtown Denison. The interior of the building will include about 2,000 square feet of dining room space across two stories, a lounge area and event space.
A name for the proposed restaurant has not been announced yet, but Day said he hopes for a six to seven month construction phase on the project with work beginning next month.
The next project that Day plans to pursue is the renovation and redevelopment of the Book Rack building at 316 W. Main Street. Day said the current tenant plans to move out within the next five months, which will allow him to transition the space into a furniture store and women's clothing boutique.
The third project is still pending and would involve 214 W. Main Street, the home of Home a la Mode. During the summit, Day referred to the space as the Quilt Shop. Day said he current has no plans to renovate the building and it is possible the current tenant will stay in place following the purchase.
This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Restaurant to take over former Independent Financial building in Denison
