diff --git a/all/build.gradle b/all/build.gradle
index 262b0d1730..3df9132c09 100644
--- a/all/build.gradle
+++ b/all/build.gradle
@@ -1,15 +1,9 @@
-apply plugin: 'com.github.kt3k.coveralls'
+plugins {
+    id "com.github.kt3k.coveralls"
+}
 
 description = "gRPC: All"
 
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath 'org.kt3k.gradle.plugin:coveralls-gradle-plugin:2.0.1' }
-}
-
 def subprojects = [
     project(':grpc-api'),
     project(':grpc-auth'),
diff --git a/alts/build.gradle b/alts/build.gradle
index d71f58f9d8..1d3ed8ab8b 100644
--- a/alts/build.gradle
+++ b/alts/build.gradle
@@ -1,23 +1,13 @@
-buildscript {
-    repositories { jcenter() }
-    dependencies { classpath 'com.github.jengelman.gradle.plugins:shadow:2.0.4' }
+plugins {
+    id "com.github.johnrengelman.shadow"
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'com.github.johnrengelman.shadow'
-
 description = "gRPC: ALTS"
 
 sourceCompatibility = 1.7
 targetCompatibility = 1.7
 
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
-}
-
 dependencies {
     compile project(':grpc-auth'),
             project(':grpc-core'),
diff --git a/benchmarks/build.gradle b/benchmarks/build.gradle
index cc7a9a6c17..2bfac4672b 100644
--- a/benchmarks/build.gradle
+++ b/benchmarks/build.gradle
@@ -1,12 +1,8 @@
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
-}
+plugins {
+    id "application"
 
-apply plugin: 'application'
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
+}
 
 description = "grpc Benchmarks"
 
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 8336fb222f..83fc1cb996 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -1,15 +1,9 @@
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        mavenLocal()
-        maven { url "https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/" }
-    }
-    dependencies {
-        classpath 'com.google.gradle:osdetector-gradle-plugin:1.4.0'
-        classpath 'ru.vyarus:gradle-animalsniffer-plugin:1.5.0'
-        classpath 'net.ltgt.gradle:gradle-errorprone-plugin:0.8.1'
-        classpath "me.champeau.gradle:jmh-gradle-plugin:0.4.5"
-        classpath 'me.champeau.gradle:japicmp-gradle-plugin:0.2.5'
-    }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.osdetector" apply false
+    id "me.champeau.gradle.japicmp" apply false
+    id "me.champeau.gradle.jmh" apply false
+    id "net.ltgt.errorprone" apply false
+    id "ru.vyarus.animalsniffer" apply false
 }
 
 import net.ltgt.gradle.errorprone.CheckSeverity
@@ -115,7 +109,6 @@ subprojects {
 
         configureProtoCompilation = {
             String generatedSourcePath = "${projectDir}/src/generated"
-            project.apply plugin: 'com.google.protobuf'
             project.protobuf {
                 protoc {
                     if (project.hasProperty('protoc')) {
@@ -205,7 +198,6 @@ subprojects {
             protobuf: "com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java:${protobufVersion}",
             protobuf_lite: "com.google.protobuf:protobuf-lite:3.0.1",
             protoc_lite: "com.google.protobuf:protoc-gen-javalite:3.0.0",
-            protobuf_plugin: 'com.google.protobuf:protobuf-gradle-plugin:0.8.8',
             protobuf_util: "com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java-util:${protobufVersion}",
             lang: "org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:3.5",
 
diff --git a/compiler/build.gradle b/compiler/build.gradle
index cfe037d12b..a57fd41bc3 100644
--- a/compiler/build.gradle
+++ b/compiler/build.gradle
@@ -1,17 +1,11 @@
-apply plugin: "cpp"
-apply plugin: "com.google.protobuf"
+plugins {
+    id "cpp"
+
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
+}
 
 description = 'The protoc plugin for gRPC Java'
 
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-        mavenLocal()
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
-}
-
 def artifactStagingPath = "$buildDir/artifacts" as File
 // Adds space-delimited arguments from the environment variable env to the
 // argList.
diff --git a/gae-interop-testing/gae-jdk8/build.gradle b/gae-interop-testing/gae-jdk8/build.gradle
index 69f48bd08f..53befa72e4 100644
--- a/gae-interop-testing/gae-jdk8/build.gradle
+++ b/gae-interop-testing/gae-jdk8/build.gradle
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 //  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 //  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 //  limitations under the License.
-description = 'gRPC: gae interop testing (jdk8)'
 
 buildscript {
     // Configuration for building
@@ -26,6 +25,13 @@ buildscript {
     }
 }
 
+plugins {
+    id "java"
+    id "war"
+}
+
+description = 'gRPC: gae interop testing (jdk8)'
+
 repositories {
     // repositories for Jar's you access in your code
     mavenLocal()
@@ -34,8 +40,6 @@ repositories {
     jcenter()
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'java'                              // standard Java tasks
-apply plugin: 'war'                               // standard Web Archive plugin
 apply plugin: 'com.google.cloud.tools.appengine'  // App Engine tasks
 
 dependencies {
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index f4d7b2bf61..7c4388a921 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-5.4.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-5.6.2-bin.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/grpclb/build.gradle b/grpclb/build.gradle
index e141bcd346..2e67844e7d 100644
--- a/grpclb/build.gradle
+++ b/grpclb/build.gradle
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
-description = "gRPC: GRPCLB LoadBalancer plugin"
-
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
+description = "gRPC: GRPCLB LoadBalancer plugin"
+
 dependencies {
     compile project(':grpc-core'),
             project(':grpc-protobuf'),
diff --git a/interop-testing/build.gradle b/interop-testing/build.gradle
index 775b4ccc88..33e880f9e6 100644
--- a/interop-testing/build.gradle
+++ b/interop-testing/build.gradle
@@ -1,17 +1,12 @@
-apply plugin: 'application'
+plugins {
+    id "application"
+
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
+}
 
 description = "gRPC: Integration Testing"
 startScripts.enabled = false
 
-// Add dependency on the protobuf plugin
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
-}
-
 dependencies {
     compile project(':grpc-alts'),
             project(':grpc-auth'),
diff --git a/netty/shaded/build.gradle b/netty/shaded/build.gradle
index f40268ee80..b7f6ec73d6 100644
--- a/netty/shaded/build.gradle
+++ b/netty/shaded/build.gradle
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
-buildscript {
-    repositories { jcenter() }
-    dependencies { classpath 'com.github.jengelman.gradle.plugins:shadow:2.0.4' }
+plugins {
+    id "com.github.johnrengelman.shadow"
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'com.github.johnrengelman.shadow'
-
 description = "gRPC: Netty Shaded"
 
 sourceSets { testShadow {} }
diff --git a/protobuf-lite/build.gradle b/protobuf-lite/build.gradle
index 74f75c6aa8..a319a182cb 100644
--- a/protobuf-lite/build.gradle
+++ b/protobuf-lite/build.gradle
@@ -1,14 +1,7 @@
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-        mavenLocal()
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'com.google.protobuf'
-
 description = 'gRPC: Protobuf Lite'
 
 dependencies {
diff --git a/protobuf/build.gradle b/protobuf/build.gradle
index eb8efb38a3..b4204bd631 100644
--- a/protobuf/build.gradle
+++ b/protobuf/build.gradle
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
-description = 'gRPC: Protobuf'
-
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
+description = 'gRPC: Protobuf'
+
 dependencies {
     compile project(':grpc-api'),
             libraries.protobuf
diff --git a/services/build.gradle b/services/build.gradle
index 9c87031d26..739b2d9f27 100644
--- a/services/build.gradle
+++ b/services/build.gradle
@@ -1,10 +1,5 @@
-// Add dependency on the protobuf plugin
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
 description = "gRPC: Services"
diff --git a/settings.gradle b/settings.gradle
index eac88a317b..3f9a7e6ef1 100644
--- a/settings.gradle
+++ b/settings.gradle
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+pluginManagement {
+    plugins {
+        id "com.github.johnrengelman.shadow" version "2.0.4"
+        id "com.github.kt3k.coveralls" version "2.0.1"
+        id "com.google.osdetector" version "1.4.0"
+        id "com.google.protobuf" version "0.8.8"
+        id "me.champeau.gradle.japicmp" version "0.2.5"
+        id "me.champeau.gradle.jmh" version "0.4.5"
+        id "net.ltgt.errorprone" version "0.8.1"
+        id "ru.vyarus.animalsniffer" version "1.5.0"
+    }
+}
+
 rootProject.name = "grpc"
 include ":grpc-api"
 include ":grpc-core"
diff --git a/testing-proto/build.gradle b/testing-proto/build.gradle
index 144c06d3ac..6a09b2f778 100644
--- a/testing-proto/build.gradle
+++ b/testing-proto/build.gradle
@@ -1,14 +1,9 @@
-description = "gRPC: Testing Protos"
-
-// Add dependency on the protobuf plugin
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-    }
-    dependencies { classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin }
+plugins {
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
+description = "gRPC: Testing Protos"
+
 dependencies {
     compile project(':grpc-protobuf'),
             project(':grpc-stub')
diff --git a/xds/build.gradle b/xds/build.gradle
index db4d5255bb..9aaadcff7c 100644
--- a/xds/build.gradle
+++ b/xds/build.gradle
@@ -1,18 +1,8 @@
-// Add dependency on the protobuf plugin
-buildscript {
-    repositories {
-        maven { // The google mirror is less flaky than mavenCentral()
-            url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/repos/central/data/" }
-        gradlePluginPortal()
-    }
-    dependencies {
-        classpath libraries.protobuf_plugin
-        classpath 'com.github.jengelman.gradle.plugins:shadow:2.0.4'
-    }
+plugins {
+    id "com.github.johnrengelman.shadow"
+    id "com.google.protobuf"
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'com.github.johnrengelman.shadow'
-
 description = "gRPC: XDS plugin"
 
 [compileJava].each() {
@@ -42,7 +32,6 @@ dependencies {
     signature "org.codehaus.mojo.signature:java17:1.0@signature"
 }
 
-apply plugin: 'com.google.protobuf'
 sourceSets {
     main {
         proto {