Local developers, nonprofits and city officials gathered in April to talk about affordable housing in McKinney.

What happened: The first McKinney Affordable Housing Summit was held April 13 and featured multiple panel discussions and keynote presentations regarding affordable housing in the city. The summit comes after a new report showed that housing cost burdens have increased for owners and renters in McKinney.

The summit was formally hosted by McKinney Front Porch alongside the city of McKinney, McKinney Chamber of Commerce, McKinney Development Corp. and the McKinney Housing Authority. It featured input and discussions focused on finding innovative housing solutions and practical strategies that can be used by employers and developers, according to a news release.

During the summit, Margaret Li, director of Housing and Community Development, reviewed a recent affordable housing assessment completed by Root Policy Research that showed an increase in cost-burdened households. City staff is using the assessment and its recommendations to build a formal affordable housing strategy, she said.

Rolling Cigars’ new permanent East McKinney location is now open.

The specifics: The business, owned by McKinney resident Ron Stevens, began as a mobile humidor business, available for private events such as weddings and corporate functions, as well as public events such as festivals. Stevens plans to continue operating the mobile trailer but said he considers the new space a “central location” for the business. The shop is located in a renovated grain silo on the Tupps Brewery property as part of the brewery’s Build-Your-Own-Business program.

Quote of note: “Cigars are much like a Tupps beer,” Stevens said. “There are thousands of different sizes, shapes and flavors. I'll have people that say ‘I've never had a cigar before’, and I can kind of guide them to the right thing by asking about their flavor palate.”
 

• 402 E. Louisiana St., Bin 101, McKinney

Renovations at Texas Christian University’s Ed Landreth Hall and the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport’s Centurion Lounge are two of many new projects filed recently with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Here are five of the most expensive permits filed with TDLR in the past week.

Texas Christian University Ed Landreth Hall renovations
Texas Christian University is renovating Ed Laundrette Hall with mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades; a new theater; audiovisual and technology upgrades; and acoustics, finishes and architectural updates.

American Express Centurion Lounge expansion at DFW Airport
American Express is renovating and expanding an existing lounge at the DFW Airport. The renovations will come with more seating, a new dining area and walk-up ice cream. 

Texas Health Dallas Hamon Tower renovations
Texas Health Resources is renovating the fifth floor of Hamon Tower in Dallas to include 30 medical-surgical beds and 30 intermediate beds.

Texas retailers can resume selling smokable hemp products after a Travis County judge temporarily blocked some of the state’s sweeping new regulations on the hemp industry.

The background: On March 31, the state health department enacted rules changing how THC content is measured in consumable hemp, which industry experts said effectively outlawed most smokable hemp products.

The Texas Hemp Business Council, a federal hemp industry group, and several local hemp companies sued the state April 8, arguing that the state health department does not have the authority to reclassify legal THC levels. State officials have defended the rules, saying they are in line with a September executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott, who at the time called for stricter oversight of the multibillion-dollar hemp industry.

The latest: Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble sided with the hemp industry in an April 10 ruling, directing the state not to enforce the new THC testing requirement and a restriction on the transportation of hemp products between states. An additional hearing is scheduled for April 23.