> At a Glance
> – AT&T will leave downtown Dallas for a 54-acre Plano campus
> – Gov. Abbott blames Dallas for “failure” on police staffing and homelessness
> – Dallas just added $10 million for homelessness programs
> – Why it matters: The Fortune 500 departure could dent downtown revival hopes and intensify City Hall vs. state tensions.
Gov. Greg Abbott says Dallas has itself to thank for losing AT&T’s global headquarters, arguing that lax public-safety policies sent the telecom giant fleeing to the suburbs.
Abbott’s Charge: Safety Woes Drove AT&T Out
Speaking in Fort Worth, Abbott said Dallas leaders “did not fully fund law enforcement” and let street homelessness spiral, prompting AT&T to seek safer horizons.
> “Because Dallas did not do that, AT&T is now moving out of downtown Dallas,” Abbott said.
The governor’s remarks came one day after AT&T CEO John Stankey told staff the company will “cost-effectively consolidate” three North Texas sites into a new $1 billion-plus campus at 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano.
City Pushes Back: Crime Down, Officers Up
Dallas police, asked for reaction, offered no statement but have repeatedly noted that downtown crime is trending downward and foot-patrol staffing has risen.
Mayor Eric Johnson and City Manager Kim Tolbert released a joint statement Monday casting the exit as a real-estate preference, not a civic failure:
- AT&T wanted a “large horizontal, suburban-style campus” rather than a skyscraper.
- The city’s urban-core “expanded police presence” and “remarkable success relocating people experiencing homelessness” won praise from other executives.
- Johnson said the departure “will open the door for us to explore new possibilities” for the downtown tower AT&T will vacate.
| Key Metric | City Claim | Abbott Claim |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown officers | Increased | Under-staffed |
| Homelessness spend | +$10M last month | “Not contained” |
| Crime trend | Down | Cites “failure” |
Key Takeaways
- AT&T’s Plano move ends a 140-year Dallas corporate legacy and leaves a 1-million-square-foot vacancy in the central business district.
- Abbott is leveraging the relocation to pressure cities statewide into boosting police budgets and clearing homeless encampments.
- Dallas officials insist public-safety stats belie the governor’s narrative, though they now face the task of re-leasing an iconic office tower in a soft market.
With state lawmakers already debating bills to cap city budgets and require minimum officer ratios, AT&T’s exit hands Abbott a high-profile talking point-and Dallas a fresh economic headache.
