Telecom giant AT&T made big moves in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs in recent days. Plans for its billion-dollar headquarters in Plano were slightly tweaked, and the company is expanding its call center space in Richardson.
The moves are part of a real estate shift for the Fortune 50 company. AT&T announced in January that it was leaving its downtown Dallas headquarters for a new 54-acre Plano campus.
This is the latest on where the projects stand.
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Plano HQ site plan approval
Plano's planning and zoning commission approved tweaks to the company's site plan Monday evening. AT&T received preliminary site approval earlier this year, but a portion of the project's proposed drainage was changed from a detention pond to box culverts. Under city code, this required approval from zoning commissioners, documents show.
The measure was approved 8-0. This and other small tweaks around the site were the only changes. A majority of the plans presented to Plano City Council in May remain the same.
AT&T is building a 54-acre campus at 5400 Legacy Drive. Initial plans show 2.3 million square feet of building space, excluding parking garages. The office campus will also include a child care center, a pedestrian bridge, three-quarters of an acre of public green space and a tower. The southern half of the site will include parking garages.
The campus will include a “mini Reunion Tower” that could reach 280 feet topped with the company's logo. The tallest building, excluding the tower, will be eight stories. AT&T received rezoning approval for the tower months ago.
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AT&T announced in January that it was leaving its downtown Dallas headquarters for the new Plano campus. Plano officials approved incentives worth $20 million and a lengthy tax rebate for the project. It was the largest incentive package the city has given to a private employer.
Under the agreement, AT&T is required to spend at least $1.35 billion in construction costs on the project and build a minimum of 2 million square feet of office, amenity and retail space at the site. The company is required to eventually employ 10,000 full-time workers at the property and occupy the headquarters for 25 years.
AT&T will receive a 65% property tax rebate on improvements made at the site over 25 years, starting in 2030. The rebate could be extended for an additional decade at 25% if the company purchases the property.
In mid-May, an entity tied to project developer KDC purchased the 54-acre site from affiliates of Dallas-based NexPoint. Collin County records show the KDC group reached agreements with AT&T. The documents offer few details, but AT&T will serve as the developer’s tenant. A provision also allows AT&T to buy the site later.
The site was once home to the headquarters of Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems. Portions of the old EDS campus, including the futuristic executive office building dubbed the “God Pod,” were imploded last month. Work to clear the structures and prepare the site for construction continues. Monday's approval clears the way for building barring any other major changes. An engineering permit for the project has been filed. City records show that request is under review.
Representatives for KDC and AT&T declined to respond to question's about the project's timeline.
AT&T CEO John Stankey previously said the firm could partially occupy the new campus by the second half of 2028. Its lease at Dallas' 37-story Whitacre Tower at 208 S. Akard St. runs through Dec. 31, 2031.
AT&T dials up Richardson
AT&T's Richardson operations are getting a boost, too. The telecom giant announced last year that it planned to relocate and expand a call center office at The Tower at Lakeside, a 16-story, 412,000-square-foot Class A office tower at 2221 Lakeside Blvd.
The city and tower owner Provident Corp. reached a new economic development agreement to support AT&T's expansion. City officials announced last week that they approved property acquisition and building modernization grants of up to $4 million. The grants are payable in two installments.
The first payment is tied to AT&T's lease commitments, acquisition of additional parking, placing AT&T signage on the building that is visible from the highway and other requirements.
Provident could be eligible for an additional $500,000 bonus if certain leasing milestones are reached.
AT&T's 12-year lease covers seven floors and 186,000 square feet. The company's move will be supported by Provident's $11.5 million investment in building improvements.
The new space will consolidate multiple regional sites. Richardson's AT&T workforce is expected to grow from 400 to 1,400, city officials said last year. It's unclear how many employees could relocate from the downtown Dallas site.
When the move was announced, it was the largest new lease signed in the Richardson submarket since 2018. AT&T's Richardson lease was one of the top leases signed in Dallas in 2025. The firm is leaving its old home, just across the street at 2270 Lakeside Blvd. The expansion comes as AT&T is marketing its 44-acre campus at 6000 Las Colinas Blvd. in Irving for sale through real estate giant CBRE.
“AT&T’s decision to expand its presence at Lakeside is a significant investment in Richardson and another strong example of the value of reinvesting in our existing corporate campuses,” Richardson City Manager Don Magner said in a statement.