Estates of McKinney, McKinney, Texas (Plano, Allen: sale, apartment, lease)

[matto]

Thanks! I'll be in town on Tuesday to look at apartments, I'll let you know what I find.

[PlanoGirl]

Don't know much about the apartments themselves, but I do have a few comments in regards to the location. The Estates of Mckinney are just north and west of the 75/121 intersection, which is currently undergoing major construction and will be for a while. Traffic is a mess right around there, and it could be a headache to live so close to it all. I believe I saw in another thread that your or your significant others) job was in Mckinney, so if that's the case, I would avoid living right by a highway (where you often get more crime anyway) and take the back road to work instead.
Also, you mention you have a 12 year old, so I assume she will be in middle school. According to the MISD website, she would be zoned to Faubion MS if you lived in the Estates apts. Not that that in itself is bad (I honestly don't know much about that school) but it is on the other side of the highway and further north. Walking would be completely out of the question, and if you were to drive her you would have to cross the highway, which would be a huge pain with all the aforementioned road construction. Of course, she could always ride the bus...I just wasn't you to be aware of the MS location in respect to those apartments.
I've heard good things about the Mansions at Stonebridge (we live close to there), as well as Greenhaven. I also like the look of Symphony at Stonebridge, which is walking distance to a grocery store, and the Adriatica shops and restaurants, as well as to Dowell MS.

Have you also considered renting a house in the area? There are a number to choose from, and it might be easier to get a feel of the neighborhoods...also will make it easier to interact with long-term residents, who'll have better knowledge of the ins and outs of the area. Just food for thought

[CTR36]

Actually the Estates of McKinney is zoned for Evans MS not Faubion according to MckinneyISD.net's website locator SchoolSite Locator by Davis Demographics

And Hardin Blvd is right there close by. That's the major road to get into and around McKinney. There is a Tom Thumb kind of around the corner and a Walmart down the road on Collin McKinney Pkwy.
There are lots of nice apts. in West McKinney, it just depends on how much you want to spend.
Good luck and Happy Hunting

[PlanoGirl]

Originally Posted by CTR36

Actually the Estates of McKinney is zoned for Evans MS not Faubion according to MckinneyISD.net's website locator SchoolSite Locator by Davis Demographics

And Hardin Blvd is right there close by. That's the major road to get into and around McKinney. There is a Tom Thumb kind of around the corner and a Walmart down the road on Collin McKinney Pkwy.
There are lots of nice apts. in West McKinney, it just depends on how much you want to spend.
Good luck and Happy Hunting

You're absolutely right. That complex is right by the boundary line and I guess I was looking at the map wrong. My bad!

Though you wouldn't cross a highway, Evans MS is still very far away from those apartments...definitely not walk-able, probably not even bike-able. May not be an issue for you at all...Just wanted to point it out in case it was.

[suavesgirl06]

I'm just getting back on and wow!! Thanks so much. I hadn't thought about renting a house but we would definitely love to. That is the reason our friend suggestion the Estates of McKinney because we wanted a garage attached.

I was checking on schools today and Evans definitely got a lot of great reviews..She would probably not walk to school, but I would probably drop her off and definitely would like to avoid getting on the freeway to do that. (Again I hadnt' considered that) so thanks again for making that point. I do liek the thought being able to walk some places, so I'm looking at that idea now.

I am also finding that there are alot of nice apartments in MckInney and if you are willing to spend some $$$ (LOL) you can get a nice one.

Another question are there any tennis parks nearby in McKinney. My daughter plays competitively here and we are know understanding that she could play in the 7th grade which would be great.

I'm super excited....

[PlanoGirl]

Here'a little info on the city tennis complex to be built this year:

http://www3.mckinneytexas.org/www/uploadedFiles/Departments/Development_Services/Engineering/CIP_and_Development/WEBTennisComplexJan11.pdf (broken link)

It's located in Gabe Nesbitt Park, which is just across Eldorado from Evans MS...so could be a great location for your daughter. There is even an trail underpass (i.e tunnel under the road) that connects Gabe Nesbitt with the park behind Evans (Serenity Park) so no dealing with potentially dangerous traffic when crossing the street. The tennis complex is scheduled to be completed next year, but you never really know how long things like that take so don't count on that.

Until then, some of the neighborhoods have community tennis courts. For example, if you lived in Stonebridge Ranch, you would have access to the 8 lighted tennis courts at the beach and tennis club (located at Ridge and Virginia...across from Dowell MS). There are also tennis classes and camps available on-site, as well as a tennis academy for those that playing competitively. Not sure if these classes, etc are available to those outside of the SBR area...you would have to check. ANyway, here's info on that:

Stonebridge Ranch - McKinney, Texas (http://www.stonebridgeranch.com/custom.asp?id=461582&page=21 - broken link)

And here's a map of the Stonebridge Ranch area that shows you the boundaries:

Stonebridge Ranch - McKinney, Texas (http://www.stonebridgeranch.com/custom.asp?id=461582&page=10 - broken link)

Not sure what the access is for apartment complexes within the SBR boundaries...you would have to check. I would think it is the same for single family residents, but I'm just guessing. Now if you rented a house within SBR, you could ask the homeowner to pay for the HOA fees as part of your rental contract agreement, so you could have access to the amenities without the cost. This may even be typical with rentals, for all I know.

[matto]

Went and looked at villas at stonebridge and then the apartment complex across the street. Wasn't real impressed, actually. Villas at Stonebridge I just didn't care for the lay out of the living room and the apartments just seemed a tad dated for what they were asking price wise.

[suavesgirl06]

WOW!! Planogirl thanks so much. that was really helpful and has really helped with our search. We will check it out all in February. We are hoping to move this summer so again thanks so much..

Matto sorry that didn't go as well...There are still a few more out there so I bet we will find what we are looking for...

[tracenat]

Hey, my fiance and I just moved to McKinney. I work in McKinney and spent some time looking at *most* of the apartments around here, before settling in Phillips McKinney Ranch Apartments. I highly, highly, highly recommend you look at them. I'll make a list below of the apartments I looked at and what I thought...
Villas at Stonebridge Ranch: I loved the layout--very open and pretty. Quiet with Adriatica across the street which was super duper nice. However, we quickly decided this was not the place for us as they only had the weird layout open (the 2/2s are awesome though) for 1 bdrms.
The Venue: Used to be AMLI, so if you look it up, you might have more chance finding it that way. Very nice as well, and, it came down to this place and Phillips McKinney Ranch, however we got a WAY better deal here, so we didn't sign with The Venue.
The Retreat at SBR: Nice, but right on 380 (University Dr) and really high traffic... made us nervous. Also, overly expensive and seemingly...perhaps cheap?
El Lago: Ew. Seriously, terrible. Dirty, stinky, old. I do NOT recommend.
Estates of McKinney: This place is seriously bad idea. Look up the reviews--not good, which is why they're cheap.
Skyway Villas: Don't waste your time. Dumpy and gross. The carpet was easily 5 years old and the cheapest of cheap (the kind you can see lines through).
Why'd we choose Phillips McKinney Ranch? We're right by Market Street (look it up, it's amazing!!) and not far from the Outlet mall and lots of great restaurants about 1/4 mi from the Outlets, as well as close to Target, Walmart, Einstein Bagels (yum!), we got an awesome deal on an 800 sq ft apartment (the 2 bedrooms are even bigger, obviously!) with granite countertops and stainless steel. We have dogs so it was important for us to find somewhere that is dog friendly. The workout room was THE BEST of anywhere that we looked as well. And, most importantly, it's really, really safe. It's well lit and there are garages here (I think I saw you're looking for that!)
Right behind here are Alexan Parkway, which we looked at too, however, I *hear* they are up for sale because they ran themselves into the ground--and now the apartments are easily double what we pay, no joke.
No matter where you live, McKinney is an amazing place. We can't wait to get married and start our family here. Everyone is so friendly and there's no shortage of things to do!
Best of luck!

[suavesgirl06]

WOW!! Thanks tracenat!! I have definitely copied your post to my list of things to do and see and pay close attention to. Since we don't know anything about McKinney it's good to know the promixity to shopping and stores and all that. So YEAH!! Thanks alot. It's definitely on my list of places to go. We heard amazing things about the city so we are definitely hoping to enjoy ourselves moving here....

I also like that the area is safe and a garage is a must!!! LOL

Again..thanks!!