AT&T has confirmed it will relocate its global headquarters from Downtown Dallas to Plano, ending months of speculation about the telecommunications company’s future in the city. The announcement was reported by the Dallas Morning News.
The new headquarters will be constructed on a 54-acre site at 5400 Legacy Drive within Plano’s Legacy development. AT&T aims to begin partial occupancy in the second half of 2028.
According to AT&T CEO John Stankey, this move is part of a broader consolidation strategy. Stankey stated that the Plano location will allow AT&T to “cost effectively consolidate all Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex administrative space,” including offices currently located in Dallas, Plano, and Irving. He added that the site would support the creation of a purpose-built corporate campus.
AT&T’s decision raises questions about its long-term presence in Downtown Dallas. Over the past decade, AT&T invested approximately $100 million into developing its Discovery District downtown, which features an outdoor media screen, food hall, and public gathering space and opened in 2021. At its peak in 2022, nearly 6,000 employees worked at AT&T’s downtown offices spread across four buildings, with Whitacre Tower serving as the anchor location under a lease that runs through 2030. The company originally moved its headquarters to Dallas from San Antonio in 2008.
The company noted that internal data indicates most employees would have shorter commutes to the new Plano site.
The property where AT&T plans to build is owned by NexPoint, a Dallas-based firm controlling 215 acres formerly home to Electronic Data Systems. NexPoint had previously planned a large mixed-use project called Texas Research Quarter for life sciences and advanced manufacturing tenants at this location.
In support of redevelopment efforts, Plano City Council approved up to $15 million in reimbursements last year via a tax increment reinvestment zone. It remains uncertain how AT&T’s move will affect NexPoint’s existing plans for the area.
