AT&T has confirmed plans to relocate its global headquarters operations from downtown Dallas to Plano, ending months of uncertainty after repeatedly declining to reaffirm its long-term commitment to its downtown footprint.<\/p>\n
AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey informed employees that the company will develop a new campus at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano,<\/a> with partial occupancy targeted for the second half of 2028. The move will consolidate administrative operations currently spread across Dallas, Plano, and Irving.<\/p>\n City officials have characterized the decision as a matter of corporate preference rather than a rejection of downtown Dallas, emphasizing AT&T\u2019s desire for a \u201chorizontal,\u201d campus-style environment.<\/p>\n However, the announcement follows years of documented warnings about public safety, homelessness, and quality-of-life conditions downtown \u2014 concerns that surfaced repeatedly in polling, independent studies, employee comments, and sustained local reporting well before the move became official.<\/p>\n The Warning Signs<\/p>\n Polling<\/a> beginning in 2022 showed residents across party lines viewed homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling as serious problems, with results also showing strong dissatisfaction with city leadership\u2019s handling of the issue.<\/p>\n Subsequent DX polling<\/a> and survey coverage in 2023 found crime, cleanliness, and homelessness ranked among voters\u2019 top priorities, while more residents said<\/a> the city was headed in the wrong direction than the right one.<\/p>\n By 2024 and 2025, those concerns had increasingly centered on downtown Dallas, where violent crime, open-air drug use, and encampments had become persistent features of the urban core.<\/p>\n Independent Report Warned Crime And Homelessness Could Drive Corporate Flight<\/p>\n The report<\/a> commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. and prepared by Boston Consulting Group warned<\/a> that deteriorating public safety and disorder downtown posed a direct risk to retaining major employers.<\/p>\n The analysis found violent crime in downtown Dallas surged 42% between 2019 and 2023 and explicitly cautioned that a major employer such as AT&T \u201cwould consider relocating if public safety downtown is not addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n The report estimated that an AT&T departure could reduce downtown property values by roughly 30%, erasing billions in value and tens of millions in property tax revenue annually.<\/p>\n That warning<\/a> remained unresolved as AT&T declined<\/a> to answer questions about its long-term plans.<\/p>\n Employee Comments Surfaced Months Before Confirmation<\/p>\n In April 2025, an AT&T employee publicly stated<\/a> that downtown crime had already altered daily work routines, including avoiding leaving the office for lunch due to safety concerns, months before the company confirmed plans to relocate.<\/p>\n Those comments aligned with broader DX reporting, tying copper theft<\/a>, service outages, and homeless encampments to public safety risks in downtown Dallas.<\/p>\n At the time, AT&T declined to respond to repeated questions from The Dallas Express about whether it intended to reaffirm its long-term commitment to downtown Dallas, referring to reports as \u201crumors and speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n As questions mounted and AT&T continued to decline comment, subsequent reporting by the Dallas Business Journal confirmed that AT&T executives had toured suburban office campuses in Plano, based on interviews with commercial real estate professionals \u2014 reinforcing concerns that the company was actively evaluating alternatives to its downtown headquarters.<\/p>\n AT&T Declined To Reaffirm Its Commitment As Suburban Tours Continued<\/p>\n Throughout 2025, DX repeatedly<\/a> asked AT&T to clarify whether it intended to remain downtown beyond its Whitacre Tower lease, which runs through 2030.<\/p>\n The company consistently declined, telling DX it does not comment on \u201crumors and speculation,\u201d even as multiple suburban<\/a> site tours were documented.<\/p>\n DX later reported that AT&T\u2019s silence mirrored its 2008 departure from San Antonio<\/a>, where city leaders were similarly caught off guard by a sudden headquarters move.<\/p>\n As recently as December 2025, AT&T declined to acknowledge DX\u2019s latest inquiry about whether it had made a determination regarding its downtown headquarters, prompting DX to file Texas Public Information Act requests seeking clarity<\/a> on communications between City Hall and the company.<\/p>\n City Leaders Frame Move As Preference<\/p>\n Following AT&T\u2019s confirmation, Dallas officials emphasized that the decision reflected the company\u2019s desire for a campus-style environment rather than dissatisfaction with the city. City leaders said discussions with AT&T are ongoing and described the transition as gradual.<\/p>\n That framing, however, contrasts with the earlier BCG\/DDI warning and the record of unresolved downtown issues documented over several years, including crime, homelessness, police staffing shortfalls, and delayed enforcement.<\/p>\n