AT&T is officially shifting its home base from Dallas to Plano. After months of swirling rumors, AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey told employees this morning via email that the Fortune 50 company plans to debut its new global headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive, the former site of Electronic Data Systems, as early as the second half of 2028. CBRE represented AT&T in the transaction.
The move doubles as an efficiency play. Stankey said the new corporate campus will “cost-effectively consolidate” the company’s three largest locations in Central Dallas, Plano, and Irving. “The nature of the company and our work have both evolved significantly since we moved our headquarters to Dallas in 2008,” Stankey wrote, “but what hasn’t changed is our belief and confidence in Dallas-Fort Worth as the right place to operate a thriving multinational corporation.”
Sources close to the deal say land mass was a big factor in AT&T’s decision, with the company prioritizing horizontal breadth over vertical stature. AT&Ts new campus will span 54 acres. The company also said internal data shows a majority of employees will have a shorter commute to the Plano HQ.
AT&T has called Downtown Dallas home since 2008. Today’s announcement—combined with uncertainty surrounding the future of the American Airlines Center and Neiman Marcus’ current state of affairs—adds to a growing sense of flux in the city’s core. AT&T invested hundreds of millions of dollars redeveloping swaths of downtown, including its AT&T Discovery District, which opened in mid-2020.
“The company’s presence helped catalyze redevelopment, innovation, and confidence in downtown at a pivotal moment in the city’s history,” said Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc.
“The company’s announcement does not change our conviction that downtown Dallas is one of the best places in the country to do business,” Scripps continued. “The urban core remains the economic engine of the region and the center of ‘Y’all Street.’ Downtown continues to make meaningful progress—billions of dollars in public investment are underway, and significant private redevelopment remains in the pipeline. While this moment is challenging, it also creates space for new opportunities and continued reinvention. DDI remains focused on advancing a long-term vision for a vibrant, competitive, and globally relevant urban core.”
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The move is a major win for Plano, which has been working to reimagine the 5400 Legacy area. Owner NexPoint joined forces with the City of Plano in 2024 to plan a 91-acre, $4 billion life sciences development at the former EDS site. A city spokesperson says plans for the development, dubbed Texas Research Quarter, are still moving forward.
AT&T plans to demolish existing buildings to make way for its new campus. “AT&T’s relocation represents a powerful reinvestment in the Legacy business district, building on an extraordinary foundation that has driven growth in Plano and our region for decades,” said Plano Mayor John Muns. “With surrounding Legacy developments already advancing innovation, the addition of AT&T brings fresh momentum to this iconic area and helps position Legacy for its next generation of success.”
