After more than two years, JCPenney will bring employees back to its Plano headquarters. Employees have worked from home or in vacant stores since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to The Real Deal, JCPenney announced the headquarters would be moving to the 318,067 square-foot building at 6501 Legacy Drive which has been renamed CalWest.The new and improved offices will cover more than 220,000 square feet.
The previous JCPenney campus is now part of the 1.8 million-square-foot Legacy business park. The space was repurposed for a multi-tenant building, CalWest.
The retailer moved its employees out of the longtime headquarters to work from home or in vacant stores in Lewisville and Frisco, during the early days of the pandemic.
“Those of you who are returning to this office may be wondering why,” CEO Marc Rosen said in an email to employees. “Simply put, circumstances have changed.”
Penney’s initially moved its employees out of the building at the beginning of the pandemic.
“We’re happy to share that JCPenney has signed a lease to move into a permanent home office: The Campus at Legacy West,” Rosen said in the email.
About 2,000 employees will be called back to the Plano building, but The Real Deal explained that CalWest will do $10 million in renovations before Penney’s return. The renovations are expected to be completed by next spring.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the addition of JCPenney and other leases signed by Miyako Hybrid Hotel and Bruce Glasscock Plano City Park will bring the building’s occupancy up to 40%, resulting in the reopening of the building’s food court and other amenities in the area.
“Our corporate headquarters must provide an environment where we can collaborate and create, accommodate diverse personal and professional needs, and experience the JCPenney brand,” Rosen said. “Legacy West meets these requirements and more.”
