Plano Offers $20M Incentive Package for AT&T's $1.4B Headquarters Campus

The Plano City Council is set to vote February 23 on a $20 million incentive package — the largest in city history — to secure AT&T's new $1.35 billion global headquarters campus, a deal that would bring up to 10,000 jobs to the north Dallas suburb while dealing a potentially devastating blow to downtown Dallas.

The incentive package consists of a $10 million construction grant and a $10 million job creation grant, plus a 65% property tax rebate on improvements for 25 years. Combined with a previously approved $15 million Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, total city-funded incentives approach $36 million.

A Campus with History

AT&T selected a 54-acre site at 5400 Legacy Drive — the former headquarters of Ross Perot's Electronic Data Systems, which opened in 1985. The property is part of a larger 215-acre tract controlled by Dallas-based NexPoint.

AT&T CEO John Stankey, who announced the relocation to employees in January, framed the move as a way to "cost effectively consolidate all Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex administrative space" — including offices currently spread across Dallas, Plano, and Irving — into a single purpose-built campus of at least 2 million square feet.

The Plano Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved rezoning on February 3, classifying the area as "commercial employment" for corporate headquarters and research facilities. AT&T must occupy the new building by December 31, 2029, and maintain it for 25 years.

Downtown Dallas Braces for Impact

The departure of AT&T — the largest Fortune 500 company headquartered in Dallas — could be catastrophic for the city's central business district, which already suffers from office vacancy above 27%.

A study commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. found that AT&T's exit could cause a 30% decrease in downtown property values, representing a roughly $2.7 billion drop and a $62 million annual loss in property tax revenue. AT&T's $100 million Discovery District investment, which opened in 2021, now faces an uncertain future.

The Suburban Migration Continues

AT&T joins a well-established pattern of major corporations choosing suburban DFW campuses over downtown towers. Toyota, Liberty Mutual, and Frito-Lay already have large presences in Plano's Legacy corridor, while Invesco and Deloitte recently relocated from downtown to Uptown Dallas.

The new campus will sit adjacent to Legacy West and The Shops at Legacy, two of North Texas' premier mixed-use destinations. AT&T toured approximately 1 million square feet of office space across Richardson, Irving, and Plano before selecting the Legacy Drive site, ultimately preferring a horizontal suburban campus over the vertical format of its current 37-story Whitacre Tower at 208 South Akard Street.

AT&T's current downtown lease runs through 2031, providing a transition period as the Plano campus takes shape with an expected first-phase delivery in mid-2026.