First Toyota Employees Mark Beginning Of New Era For Plano
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PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - It was just over three years ago that Toyota announced it was moving to Texas. On Monday, the first employees will move into their new headquarters.
When the first 250 employees come to work in the morning it will mark the beginning of a transformation of this part of North Texas.
When he's not leading the city of Plano, newly re-elected Mayor Harry LaRosiliere is happy to play the role of tour guide for anyone driving by to check out Legacy West.
"So this is Liberty Mutual over here. Over here is going to be a 60,000 square-foot food hall," Mayor LaRosiliere told a car full of people driving through the new urban village.
Starting Monday about 250 employees will move into Toyota's massive new North American headquarters each week. Over the next two years corporations like Liberty Mutual and J.P. Morgan Chase will also bring thousands of workers into Plano's Legacy West business park.
"Toyota was really the catalyst for everything you see behind us here," LaRosiliere said, "To me it was what started it all because once Toyota made a choice to come here to Plano, it really put the spotlight on what we have going on."
But with so many people coming in such a short amount of time, some worry about traffic and congestion overwhelming the area.
"Our problem is other people's envy. If we have traffic because we have 30,000 high-paying jobs coming to our community, I say bring it on, and we'll fix that, and we have," LaRosiliere said.
City leaders insist infrastructure improvement projects and traffic management programs are in place to handle all the new activity. That's why the mayor is inviting everyone to come check out the new city within a city.
Legacy West's urban village that houses most of the retail and restaurants has been opening little by little but will have it's grand opening on June 2nd. Construction will continue throughout the year.