The $4 Billion Texas Research Quarter

The Texas Research Quarter: $4 Billion, 30,000+ jobs, and a 215 acre project is underway right here in North Texas. This may emerge as one of the most important development projects in the United States. And yet very few people know about it.

The City of Plano and Nextpoint have entered into a partnership that they are calling The Texas Research Quarter (TRQ.) The plan is very ambitious and would make Plano, TX one of the great Life Sciences hubs in the United States. The TRQ would utilize a strategy of “colocation” to place R&D facilities alongside manufacturing facilities in the fields of biotech and pharmaceuticals.

The project has seen some changes since NextPoint purchased the bulk of the site in 2018. The location was Ross Perot’s original EDS campus site, right next to and literally within walking distance of the Shops at Legacy. It was originally announced as a 200 acre project, then 135, and now listed as 215 total with additional property acquisitions. In 2023 the City of Plano created a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) which allows for a portion of the property taxes to be utilized for the first phase of the project, with a maximum of $15 million used over a period of 25 years.

This is massive.

The TRQ project is designed to attract many different tenants in research and manufacturing under the Life Sciences umbrella. Each tenant is expected to host between 200-1000 employees. The project is expected to generate $2.9 billion in “gross product” and create 30,124 high paying jobs, according to a study by The Perryman Group in Waco, TX.

The pre-construction phase began in 2024 and the first phase is set to begin soon in Q1 of 2025, which includes most of the main building and a new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility on 91 acres. The site will also include other manufacturing space, research labs, retail space, and residential development. Once the project is complete, the goal is for the Plano site to be on par with similar sites currently in Boston, San Diego, and San Francisco, and possibly even larger. The site’s first phase is expected to be operational and open for business in 2026.

Updates will be added here. For more information, visit the TRQ’s website at https://www.texasresearchquarter.com/