AT&T announced on January 5, 2026, that it will relocate its global corporate headquarters from Whitacre Tower at 208 S. Akard Street in downtown Dallas to a new, modern campus in Plano, Texas.
The new headquarters will be built on a 54-acre site at 5400 Legacy Drive (former Electronic Data Systems/EDS campus, unoccupied since 2018). The company plans to demolish existing buildings on the site and construct a low-rise, horizontal campus designed for collaboration. This will consolidate operations from its current locations in Dallas, Plano, and Irving, affecting around 6,000 employees. Partial occupancy is targeted for the second half of 2028.
Estimated Cost of the Move (Including Demolition and Rebuild)
No official cost figure has been disclosed by AT&T as of early 2026. However, based on the project’s scale and comparable corporate campus developments:
• Land acquisition — Likely in the range of $50–$150 million (the site was part of a larger parcel previously eyed for a $4 billion life sciences district called Texas Research Quarter).
• Demolition — The old EDS campus includes multiple buildings (e.g., two eight-story structures connected by a bridge). Commercial demolition typically costs $4–$8 per square foot; for an estimated 500,000–1 million sq ft of existing structures, this could be $20–$80 million.
• New construction — Modern corporate campuses (with offices, amenities, parking, and green space) often cost $300–$600 per square foot. Assuming 1–2 million sq ft of new buildable space (similar to AT&T’s current ~2 million sq ft downtown footprint but spread horizontally), construction alone could range from $500 million to $1.5 billion.
• Additional costs — Site preparation, infrastructure, IT/data center fit-out, landscaping, employee relocation/transition, and potential incentives negotiations could add $100–$300 million.
• Total estimated project cost — $1–$2 billion (potentially higher if premium amenities like fitness centers, childcare, or sustainable features are included, as seen in similar Texas campuses like Toyota’s North American HQ in Plano, which cost over $1 billion).
This is a rough estimate based on industry benchmarks for large-scale corporate campus developments in Texas. Actual costs could vary significantly depending on design specifics, inflation, and any public incentives from Plano (the city has previously offered reimbursements for site redevelopment). AT&T has emphasized the move as “cost-effective” long-term due to consolidation and employee commute improvements.
The current Dallas lease at Whitacre Tower runs through 2031, so AT&T may sublease or maintain some presence downtown during the transition.