Another Win for Plano: Legacy West Chosen for Large JPMorgan Chase Campus

It’s been a rumored deal for months now, but now, Plano has another reason to celebrate. JPMorgan Chase has selected an anchor corner in Legacy West to build a $300-million, 1-million-square-foot high-rise campus to house 6,000 relocated employees from around DFW.

JPMorgan Chase signed a letter of intent Thursday to build at Legacy West, Plano’s 240-acre development. Construction is slated to start later this year, Chase spokesman Greg Hassell told Steve Brown at the Dallas Morning News.

The empty lot, located near the Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121, is next to the new Liberty Mutual Insurance development, a $325-million office campus under construction now.

The letter of intent ends months of searching by Chase to find a location to consolidate some North Texas workers from Farmers Branch, downtown Dallas, Lewisville, Coppell, and other locations into a corporate office complex.

“We expect the first employees to start moving in to the new campus in the second half of 2017—total move-in will last through 2018 and 2019,” Hassell told Brown. “Over time, we expect 6,000 employees to work at the new campus — roughly half of our employee population in the Metroplex. We haven’t figured out where everybody comes from yet. We have people in a number of buildings across the Metroplex.”

The move is a strategic plan by Chase to streamline operations.

“Our new campus will make it easier for our employees to collaborate in providing outstanding service and solutions to customers and clients around the world,” Hassell told Brown. “It will also reduce the company’s real estate operating costs in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, savings we’ll reinvest in our strategic campuses to provide the facilities, work environment and accommodations our employees need and deserve.”

Plano’s City Council must still approve the economic incentives agreed upon for the Chase development.

“We are expecting the development to total $150 million of real estate and another $70 million of business and personal property value,” Mayor Harry LaRosiliere told Brown. “We are looking to provide a 50 percent tax abatement over a 10-year period.”

According to reporting by Brown, Plano also plans to provide a $4.9 million economic grant to help Chase pay for the move to Legacy West.

Legacy West is positioned to become one of the largest new job centers in Texas, with more than 16,000 people working there within two years. Its 240 acres will consist of corporate office space; 280,000 square feet of high-end retail and restaurant space; the 292-room, $82-million Renaissance Hotel; and 621 apartment homes. It will also be home to a 265,000-square-foot headquarters complex for FedEx Office, as well as Toyota’s North American headquarters.

Karahan Cos., KDC, Columbus Realty and JC Penney are the developers of Legacy West. According to Brown, KDC is building Toyota’s and Liberty Mutual’s offices, and is also competing to develop the Chase project.

Legacy West just began in 2014, and has been going gangbusters. Instead of the expected seven years to buildout, it maybe be complete in two or three.

“I have 20 acres left, but that will be committed very soon,” developer Fehmi Karahan told Brown. “This Chase project is even more significant on top of everything else that has happened. Legacy West has exceeded everybody’s expectations and our wildest dreams.”

More proof of the development’s popularity: mortgage giant Fannie Mae recently announced it will be moving more than 1,000 workers to Plano, too.