McDonald’s is preparing to build another restaurant in the Donna area, but this one is heading well beyond the city’s traditional commercial core.
A new 4,146-square-foot McDonald’s is planned near the intersection of North Val Verde Road and Minnesota Road, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. The ground-up restaurant carries an estimated construction cost of $750,000.
Construction is listed as beginning June 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for Dec. 31, 2026. The project has already reached Review Complete status with the state.
And while another McDonald’s may not sound unusual by itself, the location makes this project much more interesting.
McDonald’s Is Pushing North in Donna
McDonald’s already operates a Donna restaurant at 602 N. Salinas Boulevard, near the city’s established commercial activity around Interstate 2 and Business 83.
The new restaurant moves considerably farther north to Val Verde and Minnesota roads, putting McDonald’s along a corridor surrounded by residential development and targeted for major transportation improvements.
In other words, McDonald’s isn’t simply adding another restaurant down the street.
It’s pushing north.
Val Verde Road Could Look Very Different
North Val Verde Road is also known as FM 1423, and TxDOT has been developing plans for a significant reconstruction of the corridor.
TxDOT’s latest proposal would widen approximately 8.4 miles of FM 1423 between SH 107 and Business 83. The existing two-lane roadway would ultimately become a six-lane road with a raised median and left-turn lanes, along with sidewalks, shared-use paths, curbs and drainage improvements.
The Minnesota Road intersection has played an especially notable role in those plans.
An earlier TxDOT design divided the corridor into sections. From Minnesota Road south to Interstate 2, FM 1423 was proposed to expand from two lanes to six lanes with a raised median, turn lanes and bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
That same Minnesota-to-I-2 segment remains identified in TxDOT’s 2026 Unified Transportation Program as a future widening project with an estimated construction cost of approximately $46.9 million. Its current estimated letting window is FY 2030 through FY 2035.
TxDOT has since moved toward a wider six-lane concept for the full SH 107-to-Business 83 corridor.
The agency says growth and increased traffic congestion have reduced mobility along FM 1423, helping drive the need for improvements.
A Corridor Preparing for More Growth
That makes the new McDonald’s more than an isolated restaurant project.
The company is preparing to invest at an intersection sitting directly along a corridor transportation officials are already planning to significantly expand.
The two projects should not be interpreted as directly connected. There is no indication that TxDOT’s widening project prompted McDonald’s to select the site.
But together, they offer another sign of how development is moving farther north along Val Verde Road.
The new restaurant also won’t be a tiny prototype. At 4,146 square feet, the building will be a substantial ground-up McDonald’s constructed from scratch rather than a renovation of an existing restaurant space.
TDLR records identify McDonald’s itself as the project owner, while Houston-based Castles Design Group is listed as the design firm.
What’s Next for Donna’s New McDonald’s?
The state filing currently lists construction running through the end of 2026.
However, construction completion dates listed with TDLR should not be treated as confirmed restaurant opening dates. McDonald’s has not yet listed the Val Verde and Minnesota restaurant in its current Donna location directory.
For now, the filing gives Donna-area residents something much more concrete: a new McDonald’s is moving forward at an intersection well north of the company’s existing Donna restaurant.
And with Val Verde Road itself preparing for major changes in the years ahead, the Golden Arches may be an early indication that commercial growth is following Donna north.