Raytheon isn’t one to move around a lot. In fact, its current Jupiter Road complex in Garland, which houses its Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) operations, dates back to the 1950s. But things are about to change—in a big way.

The defense contractor will join State Farm as an office anchor of CityLine, occupying a new three-building campus KDC is developing at the southwest corner of State Highway 190 and Wyndham Lane in Richardson.

In announcing the news, Lynn Dugle, president of Raytheon IIS, said the development would allow for expansion as the business unit grows. “Our new offices will also help us support the missions of our customers and will better reflect our role as a global technology and innovation leader in such areas as information processing, big data, cyber security, and weather data exploitation,” she said.

About 1,700 employees will move to the new campus when it’s complete in late 2015 or early 2016. Most will have a much shorter commute. When Raytheon was evaluating real estate options, it discovered that the bullseye of a scatter map of employees’ homes was just a couple of blocks east of CityLine in Richardson.

In May, Bill Foley, director of operations for Raytheon, told a crowd at a Richardson Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the company picked the CityLine site because the location provided access to a young, technical workforce. The look and feel of the campus, designed by Dallas-based HKS Inc., will be more in line with the defense and aerospace industry, he said, and is destined to become a DFW engineering hub.

In addition to Richardson’s highly skilled labor force, access to DART’s Bush Turnpike Station was key factor in Raytheon’s selection of CityLine.

Toby Grove, president of KDC, said the new tenant will fit right in, complementing the entire development and enabling Raytheon “to attract and retain the best possible talent for years to come.”

The company was represented in its search by Brad Selner and Stephen Holley with the Dallas office of JLL, along with Michael Condon and Brendan O’Shaughnessy with JLL’s Los Angeles office.

Raytheon has about 8,000 employees in the North Texas region, including those who work for the IIS division. Other operations include Raytheon’s Missile Systems division and its Space and Airborne Systems group, which last year moved to McKinney from Southern California.

KEY PLAYERS

Developer: KDC
Tenant: Raytheon

Design Team

Architect: HKS Inc.
Interior Design: HKS Inc.
Civil: Kimley-Horn
Landscape Architect: TBG
Structural: RLGoodson
MEP/FP/Security: Syska Hennessy Group
MP Design Build: TD Industries
Electrical Design Build: Walker Engineering
Roofing: Amtech

Construction Team

Contractor: Adolfson & Peterson
MP: TD Industries
Electrical: Walker Engineering
Fire protection: North Star
Earthwork: Vilhauer
Concrete: Osburn
Site Utlities: Wright Construction
Steel: Thornton