Celina Approves Its First Car Dealership, Ewing Buick GMC Along Dallas Parkway

Celina has never had a car dealership within city limits, but that changes with a unanimous vote by the City Council to rezone roughly 20 acres along the Dallas North Tollway for Ewing Buick GMC, the first automotive dealership in the city's history.

The council voted 7-0 to approve Ewing Automotive Group's rezoning request, clearing the way for the dealership at the southwest corner of the future Clear Creek Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, near Frontier Parkway. The rezoning converted the property from commercial use to a planned development, a change required because Celina's existing code does not permit new auto sales within city limits outside of industrial districts.

Development Services Director Dusty McAfee made the case to the council succinctly: "They provide employment and needed product."

Beyond the dealership itself, the approval carries an infrastructure obligation. As part of the agreement, Ewing's project includes partial construction of Clear Creek Parkway, the planned roadway that will eventually link the site and surrounding properties directly to the tollway corridor. That commitment turns a stretch of undeveloped land north of Frontier Parkway into something more than a single dealership pad; it begins to anchor what city planners envision as a regional commercial hub along the Dallas North Tollway.

The approval was not without precedent to consider. Earlier this year the council denied a separate rezoning request for a Honda dealership because it conflicted with Celina's Future Land Use Plan, which designates a specific segment of the DNT corridor for dense, regional mixed-use development. The Ewing Buick GMC site passed scrutiny because its location did not encroach on that protected corridor, allowing the council to add a commercial first for the city without compromising the high-density planning goals it has worked to preserve.

The milestone arrives as Celina continues absorbing the pressures of extraordinary growth. The city ranked as the fastest-growing in the country from 2022 to 2023, and the demand for services, retail, and employment that accompanies that population surge has pushed the council to weigh development proposals with both urgency and caution. No construction timeline or opening date for the dealership has been announced.