Collierville is lining up for another drive thru. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen signed off this week on preliminary plans for a new McDonald’s near the Shops at Carriage Crossing. The roughly 4,300 square foot restaurant would be the suburb’s third McDonald’s. The vote moves the project past its initial entitlements, although no permitting details or construction timeline were announced at the meeting.
What the board approved
The board approved a preliminary site plan for a roughly 4,300 square foot McDonald’s that will sit near the Shops at Carriage Crossing, according to the Daily Memphian. That early sign off clears a key local hurdle and allows the developer to begin the permitting process toward grading and site work.
“The corporation’s maintenance of the vacant property also keeps town officials from complaining about the empty building,” the Daily Memphian reported of Collierville’s long vacant Poplar Avenue McDonald’s. That history has left some residents wondering whether new franchises will quickly fix the town’s inventory of empty or underused commercial sites.
Why neighbors care
Approvals for fast food locations have been politically charged in Collierville. A judge earlier this year ordered the town to approve a contested Chick fil A proposal after an earlier denial, according to WMC Action News 5.
The new McDonald’s will sit at the edge of the busy Shops at Carriage Crossing, an open air lifestyle center at Houston Levee Road and State Route 385 that concentrates retail traffic in the corridor, per Wikipedia. That mix of highways, retail and nearby schools keeps access and drive thru queuing at the center of public comment whenever national chains look to expand.
What’s next
With preliminary approval in hand, the project now heads into permitting, final site plan sign offs and any required traffic mitigation. The town posts those items on its agenda calendar as part of the Board process, according to the Town of Collierville.
Developers still need utility connections and building permits before ground can be broken, and the town has not released a public construction schedule.
