AT&T Abandons Downtown Dallas for Suburban Plano in $2.7 Billion Property Value Shock

January 5, 2026 · by Fintool Agent

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AT&T-0.77% is abandoning its downtown Dallas headquarters for a sprawling 54-acre campus in suburban Plano, leaving behind a $100 million entertainment district it opened just four years ago and potentially triggering a 30% plunge in downtown property values worth an estimated $2.7 billion.

CEO John Stankey confirmed the move in a letter to employees Monday morning, marking the end of AT&T's 17-year presence in downtown Dallas. The telecom giant plans to begin occupying its new headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive by the second half of 2028.

The $175 Billion Giant Heads North

The relocation consolidates AT&T's fragmented Dallas-Fort Worth footprint—currently spanning 2 million square feet across four buildings in Central Dallas, Plano, and Irving—into a single, purpose-built campus designed for collaboration.

"We'll be transforming this site from the ground up—demolishing the old buildings and designing a new, modern campus that's built for how we work best: together," Stankey wrote to employees.

The new campus sits on land that previously housed Electronic Data Systems, the legendary IT company founded by H. Ross Perot Sr. in the 1960s. Developer NexPoint had planned a 4-million-square-foot life sciences development called The Texas Research Quarter before AT&T swooped in.

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Downtown Dallas Faces Economic Reckoning

The departure delivers a potentially devastating blow to a downtown already struggling with rising office vacancies and aging towers. Downtown Dallas Inc. estimates the move could cause property values to plunge by 30%, costing downtown an estimated $2.7 billion in overall value.

AT&T's 37-story Whitacre Tower lease doesn't expire until 2030, leaving questions about whether the company will sublease the space or simply let it sit vacant. The company spent $100 million on its Discovery District entertainment complex, which opened in 2021 featuring a massive video screen, food hall, and outdoor seating.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson acknowledged the loss but defended the city's economic position.

"Our city's unique economic strengths are what attracted AT&T to our urban core in 2008, and Dallas has become a global economic powerhouse since then," Johnson said. "But as we worked to retain AT&T, it became clear that its current leaders preferred a large horizontal, suburban-style campus rather than the skyscrapers that define our city center."

Part of a Broader Corporate Exodus

AT&T joins a parade of corporate giants abandoning downtown Dallas for the suburbs:

• Toyota+3.16%: Opened North American headquarters in Plano in 2017
• Fisher Investments: Announced 2023 headquarters move from Washington to Plano
• Caterpillar+1.56%: Built campus in Dallas suburbs
• Wells Fargo+0.37%: Suburban Dallas campus
• Goldman Sachs+0.44%: Building a 14-floor campus in Dallas (not downtown)

The trend reflects shifting corporate preferences: modern companies increasingly favor sprawling, horizontal campuses with ample parking over traditional downtown high-rises.

An AT&T official told The Wall Street Journal that the company couldn't find a large enough parcel of land in downtown Dallas to accommodate plans for a new headquarters, though they noted some personnel and corporate functions will remain downtown.

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Strategic Context: AT&T's Transformation Era

The headquarters move comes as AT&T executes one of the most ambitious transformations in telecom history. The company is simultaneously:

• Expanding fiber to 60+ million homes by 2030 (currently 31+ million passed) 1
• Scaling fixed wireless through AT&T Internet Air (270,000 Q3 net adds) 2
• Retiring legacy copper infrastructure across its footprint
• Integrating acquired spectrum licenses from EchoStar and fiber assets from Lumen 3

In the Q3 2025 earnings call, Stankey emphasized internal focus over M&A: "We have all the assets in front of us, and we've run the plays that we need to run to be successful over the next five years. Everything that's going on outside of our business right now is external and distraction." 4

The convergence strategy—bundling wireless and home internet—is working. Over 41% of AT&T Fiber households now also choose AT&T for wireless, with convergence rates growing quarter over quarter. 5

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Financial Snapshot

AT&T's financial position supports major capital deployment, though the company carries significant debt from its transformation investments.

*Values retrieved from S&P Global

The stock trades at $24.72, giving AT&T a market capitalization of approximately $175 billion. Shares are down from their 52-week high of $29.79 but well above the $21.38 low.

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What to Watch

Near-term catalysts:

• Updated long-term financial outlook expected early 2026 following Lumen and EchoStar deal closures 1
• Plano city council approvals and construction timeline
• Downtown Dallas sublease announcements for Whitacre Tower
• Q4 2025 earnings (expected late January)

Longer-term risks:

• Construction cost overruns on new Plano campus
• Retention of Dallas-based employees during transition
• Downtown Dallas commercial real estate contagion
• Legacy copper transition costs

The headquarters relocation symbolizes AT&T's broader transformation: shedding legacy assets and infrastructure to build a modern, fiber-first communications company. Whether the Plano campus delivers the collaborative culture Stankey envisions—or simply shifts the same workers 20 miles north—will determine if this is a strategic masterstroke or an expensive real estate shuffle.

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Related

• AT&T Inc. Company Profile-0.77%
• John Stankey - CEO, AT&T
• Pascal Desroches - CFO, AT&T