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Dallas' Highland Capital just bought Plano's huge former EDS HQ

The campus has more than 1.6 million square feet of office space.

One of Plano's biggest business campuses has been bought by an investment firm that's closing out 2018 on a buying spree.

The 1.6 million-square-foot former Electronic Data Systems office complex has been purchased by Dallas' Highland Capital Management, deed records show.

Opened in 1992, the sprawling complex is just east of the Dallas North Tollway on Legacy Drive.

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The property — owned since 2008 by Hewlett Packard and, most recently, DXC Technology — has been up for sale since this summer. It was expected to bring close to $125 million at sale.

Commercial property firm CBRE marketed the property, and CBRE senior vice president John Alvarado confirmed the deal has closed.

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The former EDS complex has two eight-story buildings connected by an upper-level bridge of office space. The unique office complex was the brainchild of EDS founder H. Ross Perot Sr., who built the surrounding Legacy business park and relocated his company to Plano from North Dallas.

Hewlett Packard bought Electronic Data Systems in 2008 and later created HP Enterprise. DXC was formed in 2017 when HP Enterprise merged with CSC to become an IT services giant with $26 billion in annual revenue.

DXC has been using less than 40 percent of the campus and could lease back some space after the sale, property brokers say.

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A Highland Capital representative was unable to provide additional details Wednesday about the firm's plans for the buildings.

Highland Capital and its affiliates manage about $3.5 billion of real estate assets in the U.S., consisting of office, multifamily, hospitality, self-storage and retail properties. The firm has more than $1 billion of real estate assets in Texas.

In August, Highland Capital bought Dallas' landmark Cityplace tower on U.S. Highway 75, just north of downtown. The 42-story, 1.4 million square-foot high-rise was built in 1987 and will be getting a redo.

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"We hope to transform the surrounding area with our strategic renovations and improvements," Highland Capital co-founder and president James Dondero said after the purchase. "Cityplace was designed to anchor an ambitious urban development, and we believe our plans will revitalize that vision."

Highland Capital's purchase of the Cityplace Tower and the former EDS headquarters are two of the largest commercial property deals in North Texas this year.

The EDS property is considered a prime candidate for redevelopment because of its location at the heart of Plano's booming Legacy business park. The office complex is just east of the $3 billion Legacy West development, which is home to Toyota, Liberty Mutual Insurance, JPMorgan Chase and FedEx Office with thousands of workers.

The huge former EDS campus was once the centerpiece for the entire Legacy business park in West Plano.(AP)
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