Burlington to open May 15 in vacant McKinney retail space

McKinney shoppers will get another off-price option on a busy University Drive corridor when Burlington opens May 15 in the former Joann space at 2050 W. University Drive, Suite 250. For families watching clothing, home décor and everyday household costs, the store adds a national chain built around lower prices on name-brand merchandise for the family and home.

The new Burlington is stepping into a retail box that had already gone dark after Joann closed its McKinney location in 2025. That matters on University Drive, where a vacant storefront can drag on the feel of a shopping strip, while a filled one can help keep foot traffic moving between neighboring stores. For landlords and nearby merchants, backfilling an existing space usually beats waiting on a ground-up project because it puts a tenant in place faster and keeps the corridor looking active.

Burlington says it is an off-price retailer with everyday low prices on top-brand merchandise. The chain opened its first store in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1972 and had grown to 1,108 stores across 46 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico as of Feb. 1, 2025. In practical terms, that scale gives McKinney shoppers another large-chain alternative when they are comparing prices on kids’ clothes, seasonal items, bedding, towels and other basics.

The opening also lands in a city that has been growing fast enough to keep national retailers interested. The City of McKinney estimated its population at 237,130 as of Jan. 1, 2026, up from the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2024 estimate of 227,526. Collin County, meanwhile, was estimated at 1,254,658 in July 2024. That kind of population growth does not guarantee every store succeeds, but it does help explain why chains like Burlington continue to add locations in North Texas.

The former Joann site reflects a broader shift in retail real estate, too. Joann’s McKinney closure was part of a bankruptcy-driven reduction in its store base, leaving craft and sewing customers to look elsewhere. Burlington’s move into that same space gives the property a new use quickly and gives McKinney another reason to keep shopping dollars closer to home instead of driving to other parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

For cost-conscious households, the takeaway is simple: a major off-price retailer is arriving on one of McKinney’s most traveled retail corridors at a time when budgets still matter. Whether shoppers are looking for back-to-school clothes, seasonal décor or a cheaper run for household basics, the May 15 opening adds another place to compare prices before spending.