The city of Plano is currently exploring the concept of developing a biotech hub in the Legacy business district.
On Feb. 3, the Plano Star Courier reported that the city is currently working on a public-private partnership that would see Plano’s Electronic Data Systems (EDS) campus transformed into a pharmaceutical manufacturing and research space.
The EDS site is located on Parkwood Blvd in the Legacy Business Park. The complex is owned by NexPoint, an alternative investment firm that purchased the site in 2018.
According to the Courier, the city and NexPoint are having conversations about forming a partnership that would see $3.6 billion invested to transform the site that has sat empty for four years.
In late January, the Dallas Morning News shed more light on the project, reporting that conversations about the development have been occurring for more than a year.
The publication suggests the project is aiming to transform the site into a 1.6 million-square-foot biotech hub with amenities for firms of all stages.
The EDS complex is one of Plano’s largest business campuses. Opened in 1992, the site consists of two eight-story buildings with an upper-level bridge of office space.
It was previously owned by Hewlett Packard and DXC Technology.
Redevelopment plans for the site include four phases over seven years. In the first two phases, the existing building would be reconstructed. In the following phases, additional properties totaling four-million square feet would be developed to create a 135-acre life science district.
The concept is to create a biotech hub with lab and manufacturing spaces that attract leading researchers from gene and cell therapy firms.
NexPoint, which holds $14 billion in assets, was founded in 2012 and serves as an adviser to four publicly traded real estate investment trusts.
The company initially focused on the multifamily sector, launching the NexPoint Residential Trust in 2015. It is headquartered in Dallas and its portfolio now includes single-family rentals, self-storage, hospitality, office and life sciences.
