The area’s cattle ranches have now been replaced by 2,500 acres of retail and corporate headquarters—but the campus that served as the original catalyst has sat vacant for more than six years.
A new project to turn the site into a life sciences district called the Texas Research Quarter is set to start construction before the end of the year.
Plano Economic Development Director Doug McDonald said the project could spark even more growth in the area.
“It could be the start of the second generation of Legacy,” he said.
What you need to know
The approval of a public-private partnership between the city of Plano and NexPoint—the company developing the Texas Research Quarter—have cleared the way for construction to start on the life sciences hub, which gained initial approval last November.
Plano City Council approved a development agreement in August that will provide funding through the project via a tax increment reinvestment zone, and will allow the city to reimburse NexPoint up to $15 million through the first phase of development.
The first phase of construction is expected to last around 18 months, NexPoint Chief Communications Officer Lucy Bannon said. Renovations are planned for half of the former EDS headquarters and an existing parking garage. The phase will also add a new 388,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
Bannon said the first phase is focused on flexibility, so the site can be adapted for changing tenant needs into the future.
She added that nailing down a construction timeline was the most important aspect of finalizing the development agreement, as the lack of a timeline was a “nonstarter” for potential tenants looking to lease the space.
“Pharmaceutical companies have [Food and Drug Administration] approval timelines, so they need to know that space will be delivered to them under certain parameters,” Bannon said. “This unlocks a lot of tenant recruitment.”
The TIRZ will last through 2050 and will provide an “ongoing revenue stream,” Peter Braster, Plano Director of Special Projects, said. A TIRZ allows a portion of gains in appraised property value to pay for public improvements within the defined area. The city will contribute 65% of appraised value gains within the TIRZ, while NexPoint is working on agreements with Collin County and Plano ISD.
The TIRZ encompasses a total of 703 acres to help support future developments in the area, Braster added.
Why it matters
The Texas Research Quarter is the second major life sciences development in North Texas, following Dallas’ Pegasus Park.
Bannon said the developments have a “complementary” relationship, rather than a competitive one.
“In order to be the true ‘third coast' and compete with those really established life science clusters of Boston and San Diego, there can’t be just one game in town,” Bannon said.
Bannon added that Pegasus Park is focused more on research and development, while the Texas Research Quarter will have a larger focus on manufacturing.
“Companies successful in clinical trials at Pegasus will ultimately need to be manufacturing at commercial scale,” she said. “We hope, rather than looking at the coast, they'll just move up the tollway.”
McDonald said Texas Research Quarter’s location north of Dallas will also give it certain inherent advantages.
“They don't have the room down there to grow and to build manufacturing space like we have up here,” he said. “And as people are moving up north, Plano has become the center of the metroplex in terms of job growth and proximity to people—so it makes a lot of sense that there's an active hub up here in Plano.”
Zooming in
Bannon said the Texas Research Quarter’s location in the Legacy neighborhood is one of its “strongest selling points.”
“Oftentimes you see comparable developments like this in greenfield spaces, where a tenant would come in and just hope the amenities will follow,” she said. “So we have a really great value proposition here.”
McDonald also added that, in turn, the Legacy neighborhood will see plenty of benefits from the addition of the Texas Research Quarter.
“For a campus of this size, that’s just sitting here, to come back, that will have a huge impact on the entire Legacy business park,” McDonald said.
In bringing in a new and emerging industry such as life sciences, Bannon said the Texas Research Quarter will “future-proof” Legacy, allowing it to experience continued growth.
“The fact that this could be a second-time-around catalyst for the area’s long-term future is such a cool aspect of this,” Bannon said. “It’s being done in a way that I feel is very similar to the entrepreneurial spirit and vision that Ross Perot brought [in the ‘80s].”
What’s next
With the project’s first phase of construction set to finish in 18 months, Bannon said NexPoint is hoping to soon secure some “anchor tenants and future leases” for the first manufacturing space.
The following two phases of the project will feature a hotel, 800 mid-rise residential units and a 9-acre park, along with more office and lab space.
