A New York-based defense and aerospace technology firm is setting up a new regional headquarters in Plano.
L3 Technologies is renting a new office in the Granite Park business complex at the southeast corner of Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121. The almost 12,000-square-foot operation at 5800 Granite Parkway will start out with about 35 employees.
“Our intention is to double that,” L3 Technologies’ Andrew Zogg told the Plano City Council on Monday night. “We hope to come back and talk about hundreds of jobs.”
Company officials expect to hire high-end systems engineers to fill the new positions.
L3 Technologies is the second aerospace company to locate a new operation this year in West Plano. In April, Chicago-based Boeing selected the Legacy West project for the headquarters of its newly formed global services division.
“This is a newly formed regional headquarters,” Sally Bane, who heads Plano’s Economic Development Corp., said of L3’s plans. “It is a very prestigious project.”
Plano agreed to provide an economic assistance grant of $170,000 to L3 Technologies to set up the operation. Zogg said L3 Technologies looked at multiple locations in several cities before choosing the Plano office building.
The Granite Park One office tower is owned by Plano-based Granite Properties and is across the tollway from the $3 billion Legacy West development.
L3 Technologies produces communication and electronics systems and products used by military, government security and commercial clients. The company is a contractor of aerospace systems and security and detection systems, and also provides pilot training. It has worldwide operations in seven countries outside the U.S.
It has facilities in almost 20 states, including North Texas operations in Plano, Rockwall, Arlington and Greenville.
L3 Technologies has a facility in Waco with about 1,400 employees. At its peak, the facility employed about 2,000, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported last month.