America’s largest bank is a major backer of the more than $1 billion global headquarters that AT&T plans to build in Plano.
JPMorgan Chase told The Dallas Morning News that it provided a $400 million single-bank loan to the telecom giant. It’s unclear when the deal was finalized, but it offers the first insight into how the Fortune 50 telecommunications firm plans to fund its new 54-acre campus in Collin County.
Bank officials and AT&T declined to provide further details about the loan.
“AT&T is a dividend-paying, publicly traded company with an equity market capitalization of around $177B and a long operating history. Its credit ratings from S&P, Moody’s and Fitch indicate a stable outlook for its near-term financial health. For a lender, this is important because the capital markets provide an additional set of eyes that constantly scrutinize its borrowers after the loan is issued,” said Shriram Villupuram, a real estate and finance professor with the University of Texas at Arlington. “Chase would prefer to lend to one large, high-quality borrower with AT&T’s stature rather than to a multitude of private borrowers whose credit quality is hard to determine.”
AT&T announced in January that it was leaving its global headquarters in downtown Dallas for the northern suburbs. AT&T’s lease at the 37-story Whitacre Tower at 208 S. Akard St. runs through Dec. 31, 2031.
Plano officials approved a $20 million incentive package and a lengthy tax rebate for AT&T earlier this year. It’s the largest incentive package the city has given to a private employer.
Under terms of the Chapter 380 agreement, the Fortune 500 firm must spend a minimum of $1.35 billion in construction costs on the project. The telecom giant must also build a minimum of 2 million square feet of office, amenity and retail space at the site, eventually employ 10,000 full-time workers at the property and occupy the planned headquarters for 25 years.
AT&T will receive a 65% property tax rebate on improvements made at the site over 25 years, starting in 2030. The rebate could be extended for an additional decade at 25%, if the company purchases the site.
Plano’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved a rezoning request tied to the headquarters earlier this week. The City Council must still approve the measure.
Preliminary site plans show there will be 2.3 million square feet of building space. The office campus will also include a daycare center, a pedestrian bridge, three-quarters of an acre of public green space, and the tower. The southern half of the site will include parking garages.
A 280-foot “landmark” tower will feature AT&T’s logo and include an enclosed communications antenna. One Plano official said the structure resembled a “mini Reunion Tower.”
The tallest building, excluding the tower, will be 8 stories.
AT&T CEO John Stankey said the company is targeting partial occupancy for the new headquarters “as early as the second half of 2028.”
JPMorgan Chase is the nation’s largest bank with more than $2.8 trillion in domestic assets near the end of last year. The bank has roughly 30,000 employees in Texas and about 18,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth.