Plano's Legacy West reaches new heights with addition of Liberty Mutual's $325M campus

The new Liberty Mutual regional campus will elevate Plano's Legacy West development — bringing the tallest structure, so far, to the $3.2 billion mixed-use project.

But it certainly won't be the tallest structure yet for Legacy West, with Palladium USA expected to soon begin its 30-story apartment tower on May 2 adjacent to the Boston-based insurance company's new regional hub.

The bones of the Liberty Mutual regional campus in Legacy West reached their upper most peak on Tuesday, bringing in a new addition to the West Plano skyline.

The milestone on the 19-story campus totaling 1.1 million square feet was quite pleasing for Liberty Mutual, said Sean Murphy, Liberty Mutual's director of design and construction. Show Full Story

Murphy spoke with the Dallas Business Journal about the insurance company's plans to hire thousands of workers before the campus opens by the end of the year.

Liberty Mutual's new campus — having reached its upper-most height — is one of the tallest structures in this part of the region and, symbolically, means the city is reaching new heights, said Mayor Harry LaRosiliere.

"To me it is not so much the building or the structure, but the people that are going to be here and Liberty Mutual as a community partner," LaRosiliere told the DBJ.

"We want to create an environment for people that they want to work in and be part of this community," he said, adding this represents the citywide growth phase of Plano.

With more than 800 workers on the Liberty Mutual site putting in 1.4 million man hours so far on the project, Balfour Beatty's Executive Vice President Eric Krueger said there's been no reportable accidents — which is a feat in and of itself.

KDC CEO Steve Van Amburgh added, "The safety record has been impeccable on this project, which is important."

Liberty Mutual's campus will act like a beacon for the Plano community, giving yet another corporate endorsement to the city, said Sally Bane, the city's economic development director.

"What has drawn people to this community is the world class business park and development," Bane said. "Companies are able to find the labor they need and access to the amenities their employees and customers want with great restaurants for dining and entertainment."

That has been the big push into Plano, said Plano City Manager Bruce Glasscock, the city's ability to deliver on the corporate desire to give employees a quality live-work-play environment.

"This continues to add to our property value base and just the excellence in our community," Glasscock said. "It's been our goal to continue to get quality companies here and this is another example of what we are able to do."

Candace Carlisle covers real estate for the Dallas Business Journal.

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