Morgan Stanley is positioning itself as another Wall Street giant betting on Texas's status as a financial hub, with plans under consideration for a new $1.3 billion office building in Dallas.
According to Dallas city documents, Morgan Stanley aims to consolidate several of its growing divisions, currently scattered across Dallas, into a 709,000-square-foot skyscraper at 2401 McKinney Avenue. The property, owned by Trammell Crow, is situated less than a mile from the $500 million campus being developed by Goldman Sachs. The site currently houses a seafood restaurant and a closed-down gym.
The investment bank plans to invest approximately $684 million into the property by 2031, while the developer is expected to contribute around $650 million for the building's construction. The documents indicate the tower could accommodate up to 4,800 jobs by the end of 2039.
During the construction phase, Morgan Stanley intends to lease 255,000 square feet of office space in a nearby building for a period just over four years. The company is scheduled to move into the new tower in 2031 under a 16-year lease.
The Dallas City Council is set to vote on an incentive package for the project this Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has stated it is also considering Alpharetta, Georgia, as a potential location for the project.
Both Morgan Stanley and Trammell Crow declined to comment.
This project reinforces the rising prominence of Dallas as a financial center as Wall Street firms intensify efforts to recruit talent outside of New York. The Goldman Sachs campus, designed for 5,000 employees, is expected to open in 2028, and Bank of America is also moving into a new building near the city's Uptown district.
The new Morgan Stanley tower would provide a significant boost to downtown Dallas's development. This comes shortly after the city faced a setback with two professional sports teams announcing plans to build new stadiums away from the downtown core. In 2020, Trammell Crow had previously planned a $200 million, 750,000-square-foot building on the same site now earmarked for Morgan Stanley, but that project was later shelved.
Financial job growth is also anticipated in other parts of Texas. Reports suggest Apollo Global Management is leaning towards selecting Austin as the location for its second U.S. headquarters.
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