Plans for a multibillion-dollar life science innovation district in Plano are moving forward.
Plano City Council on Monday approved a development agreement to support The Texas Research Quarter project, a new life sciences and medical center slated to occupy a 91-acre campus once home to H. Ross Perot Sr.’s Electronic Data Systems. Dallas-based NexPoint purchased the property in 2018.
Plano councilors approved up to $15 million to reimburse NexPoint for the redevelopment. The funds will come from a recently created tax increment reinvestment zone that covers a portion of the Legacy Business Park area.
A tax increment reinvestment zone allows the city to use a portion of additional property tax revenue generated to fund projects in a specified area. The payments will be made over 25 years, according to city documents.
“The City Council approval is just the first step in a comprehensive plan to develop the Texas Research Quarter into a world-class hub for life science,” Eric Danielson, managing director and head of real estate development at NexPoint, said in a statement. “We are committed to collaborating with the community to build a dynamic ecosystem that will drive innovation, attract and grow top-tier talent, support groundbreaking research, and accelerate the production and delivery of important treatments to patients in Texas and beyond.”
The $15 million will support the project’s first phase, which includes converting a significant portion of the main building and constructing a new manufacturing facility for pharmaceutical, bioprocessing and other related activities.
NexPoint said it expects to spend nearly $136 million on the work and that work is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs. The finished development could create more than 30,000 jobs, according to city documents and previous Dallas Morning News reporting.
NexPoint is pursuing related agreements with other taxing entities and is seeking to establish a broad public-private partnership by the end of the year. The first phase of construction would then begin.
The $4 billion redevelopment will occur in several phases. Additional laboratory, scientific research, pharmaceutical, medicinal, manufacturing, residential, hotel, retail and other mixed-use components are planned over a 135-acre district, according to city documents. A NexPoint spokesperson said the company expects the tax reinvestment zone to support future phases of the development.
Others are also developing on the former EDS campus.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers purchased a property called the Campus at Legacy, which is near the former EDS headquarters building. The 400,000 square feet of offices will more than triple the chain’s footprint in Plano. Raising Cane’s is expected to move into the property in 2026.
