Plano Council to Consider $20M Incentive Package for AT&T Headquarters

Plano City Council is scheduled to consider on Feb. 23 an economic incentive agreement that would provide AT&T $20 million to support the company’s planned relocation of its global headquarters to a new 54‑acre campus at 5400 Legacy Drive. City documents and project terms tied to the proposal require a minimum construction of 2 million square feet and at least $1.35 billion in construction investment for the site.

The proposed $20 million package is structured as a mix of grants, fee waivers and long‑term property tax rebates, and city paperwork includes a detailed property tax rebate formula. Under terms reported by city advisers, the deal would offer a 65 percent property tax rebate lasting 25 years, with AT&T able to choose a start year of 2029, 2030 or 2031. If AT&T purchases the property within that window, the company could qualify for a 10‑year extension at a 25 percent rebate, while half of the grant is earmarked to offset redevelopment costs at the Legacy Drive site.

Incentive payments are explicitly tied to project benchmarks. The agreement conditions payments on completing at least 2 million square feet and investing the $1.35 billion minimum, and it sets phased employment targets: maintain at least 4,000 full‑time employees at the Plano site and create or transfer and maintain an additional 4,000 employees by the end of 2034 and another 2,000 full‑time employees by the end of 2039. The contract language also requires the initial cohort of 4,000 employees be maintained for at least six months to trigger incentive payment and that staffing levels be sustained over the life of the agreement.

The campus sits on land that includes the former Electronic Data Systems corporate headquarters and is adjacent to holdings owned by Dallas investment firm NexPoint, which controls roughly 215 acres where AT&T plans to build. AT&T CEO John Stankey announced the relocation on Jan. 5, 2026, and city officials say the new campus will allow AT&T to consolidate administrative operations from three existing Dallas‑Fort Worth campuses into one location. The City of Dallas’ Office of Economic Development reports AT&T currently employs about 10,000 people at its Dallas headquarters.

Plano’s planning and zoning commission has approved rezoning on Parkwood Boulevard and Legacy Drive to accommodate development, and city documents indicate the $20 million would be drawn from the city’s economic development fund for this fiscal year. City records referenced in council materials show awarding the $20 million would leave nearly $36.8 million available for future projects in that fund, and city officials have characterized the package as the largest incentive Plano has offered a private employer. Mayor John Muns said, “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.”

The draft agreement contains additional branding and operational language for the company, including a clause that states AT&T will “use 'Plano, Texas' or 'Plano, TX' when referencing the company's address on materials” and an unusual phrasing preserved in contract excerpts calling for AT&T to “make a reasonable effort to sue Plano facilities for company-related business activities.” AT&T did not comment on the proposal Tuesday afternoon. City council members will review the full economic development agreements at the Feb. 23 meeting before any vote; project documents indicate AT&T is targeting partial occupancy of the new headquarters as early as the second half of 2028.