FROM THE MAYOR
The Plano of the next decade will continue to be a safe, vibrant work center with beautiful neighborhoods. Plano is a city where our residents enjoy educational, recreational and cultural opportunities in abundance. The foundation of our success is an incredible school district and most of all, great people.
In 2014, we marketed Plano to our residents, state, country and the world. The results were spectacular. Companies like Toyota, FedEx Office and Print Services, Hilti and Greatbatch received our message. In fact, nine companies alone represent almost 6,000 jobs added to our community.
In 2015, it is my hope to continue this momentum. We will embrace the opportunity of our future, while acknowledging that this is our moment to make a lasting impact for generations to come.
As Plano continues to evolve, the City Council and I are committed to maintaining our rich and diverse heritage as we define our future. I am excited about what lies ahead and know that with the combined efforts of my fellow council members, our dedicated city staff and our outstanding residents, we will remain the “City of Excellence.”
Sincerely,
Harry LaRosiliere, Mayor
C I T Y O F P L A N O
THE PAST YEAR WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE
YEAR PLANO REASSERTED ITSELF AS ONE OF
THE PREMIER COMMUNITIES IN THE NATION FOR
BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS TO CALL HOME.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION PROJECT TYPE SQUARE FTAPPROX EMPL0YMENT
RELOCATION AND EXPANSION/RETENTION PROJECTS
20
14
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Toyota Motor North America Automotive Manufacturing Relocation 1,780,000+ 3,650+FedEx Office & Print Services Office & Print Services Relocation/Expansion 265,000 1,224
Heartland Payment Systems Financial Services Expansion 81,000 375
LegacyTexas Financial Services Expansion 78,700 215
T5 Data Centers Data Center Expansion 70,000 37
Hilti North America Tools/Fastening Systems Manufacturing Relocation 56,000 175
Mitel Business Communication Services Relocation 52,800 170
Greatbatch Medical Device Manufacturing Relocation 52,000 167
ProPac Marketing Marketing Services Relocation 52,000 16
AMS-TAOS USA Electronics Headquarters Expansion 50,500 80
Neo Tech Wireless Cellular Phone Repair Expansion/Retention 47,960 30
GE Critical Power Electrical Power Supplier Expansion 46,960 50
ZeOmega Health Management Software Provider Relocation 31,000 111
RamQuest Software Firm Expansion 28,200 100
UBS Financial Services Relocation 27,900 300
Murchison Oil & Gas Oil & Gas Expansion 27,000 33
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Financial Services Relocation 26,800 140
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Insurance Provider Relocation 26,400 135
Optimal Blue Enterprise Lending Services Expansion 26,000 130
NTT DATA IT Service Provider Expansion 25,000 150
Allied Solutions Financial Services Expansion 20,340 80
For Rent Media Solutions Marketing & Advertising Services Relocation 20,200 96
CSA Group Testing & Certification Lab Relocation 20,000 20
Learfield Communications Collegiate Sports Marketing Expansion/Retention 15,700 40
BakerCorp International Rental Tanks/Pumps/Filtration & Shoring Expansion 13,500 45
Project: WorldWide-Shoptology Marketing & Advertising Services Expansion 13,500 15
Fonality Communication Systems Headquarters Expansion 12,300 48
AREVA Med Health/Medical/Bio Science Manufacturing Relocation 8,000 10
Goliath Games Gaming & Toy Manufacturing Expansion 8,000 15
Zoës Kitchen Restaurant Headquarters Relocation 3,700 75
Transamerica Financial Services Expansion N/A 282
At Home Group (formerly Garden Ridge) Distribution/Wholesale/Headquarters Relocation N/A 140
Toyota Motor North America
announced that it is establishing its new headquarters in Plano, Texas for its North American operations. The $350 million Toyota campus will be built on 100 acres at the southwest corner of Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH 121) and Legacy Drive. The project is expected to total over 1.7 million square feet and employ over 3,600 people by 2017. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will consolidate Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) from Torrance, CA, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) from Erlanger, KY and Toyota Motor North America (TMA) from New York, NY to a single campus in Plano. The new shared campus will house the automaker’s sales and marketing, corporate and financial services and manufacturing.
Cost of living and quality of life were important factors in narrowing down the list of 100 possible sites for the headquarters’ new location. “When we started our search for a new home, we looked at every major city across the country from both the business point of view as well as the employee’s point of view in terms of quality of life,” CEO Jim Lentz said. “I can tell you there is no better place than Texas to start the next chapter of Toyota’s history in North America, and we are excited about our future together.”
Small groups began transitioning to Plano in summer 2014 while the majority of employees will not make the move until late 2016, when construction of the campus is slated to be complete. While the new, environmentally sustainable campus is being built, some of the Toyota associates will work in temporary offices located in Plano.
At the daylong “Hello Texas” celebration of Toyota’s move, the company generously donated $1 million to Plano school district’s Academy High School and presented six Toyota Tundra trucks to the City of Plano. “The people of Texas have been wonderful,” Steve Curtis, Toyota Vice President of Corporate Communications said. “It’s our way of saying thank you for the warm welcome and also giving them an indication of what Toyota’s really about.”
Pictured left to right: Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz, Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin, Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, Governor Rick Perry
FedEx Office & Print Services
will consolidate its North Texas headquarters by building a new 265,000-square-foot corporate campus in Legacy business park. The company will build their new corporate headquarters at the northeast corner of Legacy and Headquarters Drive bringing over 1,200 employees to the city. FedEx Office plans to move into their new Plano headquarters by the end of 2015.The new campus will consolidate area support offices. “We have found being in two buildings is not optimal,” FedEx Office COO Kim Dixson said. “We wanted to put our employees in one building to foster collaboration to create a stronger culture.”
The new corporate campus plans to include open space, collaboration space, access to natural light and other amenities including an on-site cafeteria and fitness center.
Hilti North America
, a Tulsa-based global manufacturer and subsidiary of Hilti Corporation, will relocate its corporate headquarters to Plano. Hilti supplies specialized tools and fastening systems for the construction industry. The company has leased two floors in the new Legacy Tower, totaling 56,000 square feet, at 7250 Dallas Parkway. The move is expected to be complete by June 2015 when Hilti will initially have a Plano staff of 175 employees.A large, readily available talent pool and accessibility were cited as important factors in their site selection process. “Moving the corporate headquarters to the Dallas Metroplex puts us in the middle of a top five construction market and gives us greater access to a much larger talent pool as we expand our business over the next decade,” Hilti North America President and CEO Cary Evert said.
Based in Tulsa since 1979, the company plans to transfer the majority of its corporate staff to Plano but will keep 425 employees in Oklahoma in a converted operations center for customer service, credit, accounts payable and receivables and training. The company’s distribution centers, test lab and repair services will be located in surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth cities.
Murchison Oil & Gas
, an energy firm, took the top floor of Trammell Crow Co.’s new Legacy Tower at 7250 Dallas Parkway. The company was the building’s first tenant and occupied over 27,000 square feet with 33 employees at the end of 2014.“Our new headquarters will continue to enable us to attract top-quality talent, and we look forward to moving into this first-class building,” Murchison President Tazewell Speer said.
Murchison was founded in 1979 and has offices in Carlsbad, New Mexico and Midland, Texas. The company operates in the Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas and the San Juan Basin in Colorado.
UBS
, a Switzerland-based financefirm, has leased 27,900 square feet in Legacy Tower at 7250 Dallas Parkway. UBS is consolidating two area offices. The new Plano location serves as the company’s wealth management office and employs 300.
“We look forward to moving into Legacy Tower and continuing to help our clients here in North Texas, being the firm of choice for high-net worth and ultra high-net worth families,” said Managing Director Chris
Mitel
, a Canada-based company, will consolidate their DFW offices and move their North American headquarters to Granite IV, located at 5850 Granite Parkway. The company has leased two floors, totaling 52,800 square feet and will have 170 employees. “Mitel has more than doubled in size since the beginning of the year,” said CEO Rich McBee, “and our office requirements are expanding with us.”Mitel provides communication solutions for businesses, primarily focusing on VoIP (Voice over IP) products. The
company serves over 100 countries, 60 million users and powers over two
billion connections a day.
Heartland Payment
Systems
, a credit and debit card payment and processing company, has leased 81,000 square feet at Granite IV, located at 5850 Granite Parkway, and has a staff of 375 employees. The information technology department, previously located at 6860 Dallas Parkway, moved into the new building, along with the company’s national sales, finance, product management and account departments. “The new facility at Granite Office will give Heartland the ability to attract and retain top talent,” said Chief Technology Officer Bryan Thompson.The New Jersey-based Fortune 1000
company processes over 11 million transactions a day, making them one of the largest payment processing companies in the nation.
Greatbatch
, a medical device developer and manufacturer, will relocate their corporate headquarters to Granite V at 5830 Granite Parkway. The company will occupy 52,000 square feet in early 2016 and plans to employ 167 by 2017. Greatbatch develops and manufactures critical technologies used in medical devices for cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, vascular access and orthopaedic markets.ZeOmega
, a provider of solutions for population health management, has relocated its global headquarters to a 31,000-square-foot building at 6200 Tennyson Parkway. ZeOmega’s area staff has grown significantly from nearly 70 to approximately 111 people since 2011. In North Texas since 2001, the company moved their corporate headquarters to accommodate their growth. “The company envisions its tremendous growth from recent years to continue into the future due to this demand,” ZeOmega Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Nandini Rangaswamy said. “The new location has the space for additional staff and other resources that ZeOmega continues to add to keep pace with growth and maintain client satisfaction.”Great Lakes
Educational
Loan Services
, a non-profit guarantor and servicer of student loans, opened its new operations center in Plano. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company entered the Texas market for the first time. The company leased over 26,800 square feet at 6500 International Parkway in the International Business Park. Great Lakes will hire up to 140 support and customer services representatives within the next year.The company cited workforce, demographics, quality office spaces, accessibility and climate as contributing factors in their relocation decision. Great Lakes works with over 6,000 schools and 1,100 lenders across the nation and partners with the U.S. Department of Education.
LegacyTexas
, was formed recently when LegacyTexas Bank merged with ViewPoint Bank, creating one of the largest independent banks in Texas, representing 51 branches and over $5 billion in pro forma assets.The company consolidated its corporate
headquarters into the top three floors of the former Encana Tower, located at 5851 Legacy Circle. The banking firm occupies 78,700 square feet and will have 215 employees by 2016. The banks, previously located on Preston Road and Legacy Drive and 1201 W. 15th Street, moved into their new building in late 2014. Renamed Plano Tower, LegacyTexas will be the first new tenant to occupy the
Hilton
Dallas/Plano Granite Park hotel opened in August 2014 in Granite Park. The hotel offers 299 rooms with over 30,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel features a waterfront boardwalk that is connected to Granite Park’s office buildings. Within the 262,000-square-foot property, guests can enjoy a technology center anda 12-screen media bar in a corporate environment.
“This is first and foremost a business hotel, being in the middle of a business park,” said Director of Development and Construction for Granite Properties David Cunningham.
“We’re the newest full-service hotel in this market.”
UPDATES
The Renaissance Hotel
will begin construction in 2015 on a 270,000-square-foot full-service hotel located west of the Dallas North Tollway in the new $2 billion Legacy West development. The $82 million hotel project will feature 300 rooms and over 26,000 square feet of conference space. The high-rise hotel is part of the 240-acre Legacy West development which will feature corporate office space, apartments and a shopping center.“Legacy West is kind of a luxury alternative to the Shops at Legacy,” Gensler Studio Director Barry Hand said. “It is intended to serve the growing corporate base that’s developing on the west side of the toll road with Toyota, FedEx Office & Print Services and other corporate citizens.”
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