Plano Greenlights Mini Reunion Tower Plan on AT&T Campus

AT&T secured zoning approval for a “mini Reunion Tower” they’re dialing up at their new $1 billion-plus global headquarters in Plano.

The Plano City Council approved a small portion of 5400 Legacy Drive’s 54-acre campus for the tower, made in the likeness of Dallas’ Reunion Tower, a 581-foot tall observation deck, to be rezoned for the tower. The tower will also double as a communication antenna, topped with the company’s logo. The proposed 280-foot-max structure still needs to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the Dallas Morning-News, and will be prevented from utilizing light effects overnight.

Plano Planning Commissioner Ban Alali said the structure is a striking resemblance of the Reunion Tower earlier this month, according to the outlet. Outside of the tower replica, buildings in the development will be no more than eight stories.

Plans for the new AT&T headquarters include 2.3 million square-feet of building space in addition to parking garages for employees. The telecom giant is targeting a move-in date in the second half of 2028.

AT&T’s move away from Downtown Dallas came with pointed words and millions in incentives. Plano offered a $20 million package that included a 65 percent property tax rebate for a quarter of a century, according to the outlet. Under the deal, the company would be required to build amenity and retail space in addition to offices, and occupy the building for the duration of the property tax rebate. Dallas-based KDC, the firm that is developing the property for AT&T, locked in a $400 million construction loan from JPMorgan Chase earlier this month.

Months before AT&T publicly announced plans to move, they were privately ripping Dallas City Hall. CEO John Stankey’s emails stated that the company had concerns about Dallas’s “effective/sustained governance” and quality of life in the downtown area.

AT&T will be leaving their lease at the 37-story Whitacre Tower at 208 South Akard Street in Downtown Dallas following the campus’s completion. The lease runs through the end of 2031.

— Hunter Cooke