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Morgan Stanley announced that it will be the anchor tenant in a planned high-rise at McKinney Avenue and Fairmount Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mark Lennihan\/AP<\/p>\n
Morgan Stanley seeks to expand its presence in North Texas as the investment banking giant plans to occupy a new high-rise in Uptown Dallas <\/a>and invest almost $700 million in a new operational hub.<\/p>\n While waiting on the new digs, the firm would sign a large short-term lease at downtown\u2019s Fountain Place skyscraper \u2014 a win for a Central Business District that has seen sports tenants and major corporations announce they\u2019ll soon leave. If approved, the company would receive an $18.5 million incentive package and additional tax abatements, according to city documents.<\/p>\n The Dallas City Council will vote on the package June 24.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The financial services firm revealed in city documents that it would be the anchor tenant in a planned high-rise at McKinney Avenue and Fairmount Street. The Dallas Morning News first reported that the bank was eyeing the site <\/a>in January.<\/p>\n The property is owned by CBRE\u2019s Trammell Crow Co., which declined to comment. Morgan Stanley also declined to comment.<\/p>\n Under the terms of the deal, Morgan Stanley would lease roughly 700,000 square feet in the new Uptown Tower for 16 years with an expected move-in date of 2031. The banking giant would lease about 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place for just over four years.<\/p>\n Morgan Stanley plans to invest nearly $97 million and will bring 1,500 jobs to Fountain Place by 2031. The firm will invest over $684 million in the new Uptown building by 2031 and employ 3,800 people at the site by the end of 2035 with the possibility of additional relocations, according to the documents. The developer is expected to invest another $650 million to build Morgan Stanley\u2019s new office, city documents show.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Fountain Place skyscraper and the planned Uptown site will be designated as neighborhood empowerment zones. Morgan Stanley will receive a 90% tax abatement on its property at Fountain Place for five years. The bank will also receive a 90% tax abatement on its property at the new site for 10 years. The city estimates it will forgo $4.8 million in tax revenue.<\/p>\n The city would also agree to nominate Morgan Stanley\u2019s Fountain Place development as a state enterprise zone project, and city leaders would help the bank seek a \u201ctriple jumbo\u201d enterprise zone designation\u00a0\u2014 saved for megaprojects that create at least 500 jobs. The average annual wage for the jobs is expected to be $128,000.<\/p>\n Construction would start in fall 2026. The deal is likely contingent on the incentive approval. Morgan Stanley narrowed the search for their operational hub to two cities \u2014 Dallas and Alpharetta, Ga. The terms of the incentive package were negotiated by City staff and accepted by Morgan Stanley.<\/p>\n The city estimates the project will bring nearly $65 million in net economic impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Uptown site was a planned headquarters for CBRE<\/a>, but after being approved for zoning and incentives toward construction, work on the tower stalled. The Dallas developer announced plans for a 27-story office and retail tower at the site in 2020. At the time, the nearly 700,000-square-foot building was to replace the Truluck\u2019s restaurant at the corner of Maple Avenue. The News previously reported the tower would have had to be finished by the end of 2024 to receive city economic incentives. CBRE abandoned the plans and opted instead to renovate their current building.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Fountain Place was roughly 45% leased with nearly 680,000 square feet of office space available, according to data from real estate firm CoStar. The tower has remained half-empty since Tenet Healthcare left downtown for the suburbs in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n The move would dramatically increase Morgan Stanley\u2019s more than 160,000 square feet of current office space in Dallas-Fort Worth. The largest share is housed at Uptown\u2019s\u00a0PwC Tower.\u00a0<\/p>\n The news comes after major corporate tenants and two of the city\u2019s major sports teams announced they would leave downtown for new homes.<\/p>\n Telecom giant and Fortune 50 company AT&T announced in January that it would build a new global headquarters<\/a> in Plano. The site at 5400 Legacy Drive will span 54 acres, and the firm plans to partially occupy the new building as early as the second half of 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n In May, Fifth Third announced that it would leave Comerica Bank Tower<\/a> within 90 days to eventually occupy multiple floors at 8300 Douglas, a mixed-use development in Preston Center. An exact date for their downtown exit is not known.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Earlier this month, both the Stars and Mavericks announced they would leave American Airlines Center for new stadiums in 2031. The Stars are planning to build their arena as part of a $3 billion mixed-use development<\/a> at the site of the Willow Bend mall in Plano.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n