Jerry Jones lands financial firm TIAA as new tenant with $58M office project

TIAA will be a majority investor, and state offers deal-closing grant

TIAA's Thasunda Brown Duckett and Jerry Jones with rendering is of the general The Star mixed-use development (Getty, TIAA, Gensler)
TIAA's Thasunda Brown Duckett and Jerry Jones with rendering is of the general The Star mixed-use development (Getty, TIAA, Gensler)

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has snagged another tenant for his mega mixed-use development that’s centered by the team’s world headquarters.

New York-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, one of the largest pension funds and financial advisors in the U.S., will create a $58 million corporate office in a 91-acre mixed-use development called The Star. TIAA will occupy all of a 15-story building, spanning 500,000 square feet, in the $1.5 billion Frisco center and will eventually create 2,000 jobs there, the firm said.

“The new site represents our service commitment to clients and supports our company’s future growth,” Thasunda Brown Duckett, president and CEO of TIAA, said in a statement. “The addition of associates in the Frisco office will increase our capacity to serve new and existing clients as they plan for and live in retirement.”

TIAA, which has had a presence in Dallas since 1985, has searched for more than a year for a major lease in the metro, the Dallas Morning News reported. TIAA officials said in a news release that the firm intends to sign a long-term lease for the Frisco site.

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The financial giant’s plans to firmly plant itself in the metro highlights the growing interest from corporations to conduct business in the Lone Star State. Companies have relocated to, or expanded operations in Texas in droves over the course of the pandemic, following a wave of people moving to the state and the area’s business-friendly climate.

TIAA’s General Account will be a majority investor, and TIAA unit Nuveen Real Estate will co-develop and manage the building. The firm has also nabbed an $18 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, which is known as the state’s “deal-closing” fund.

“The new TIAA corporate center in Frisco is a testament to the exceptional economic climate we have here in Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. “Businesses and organizations thrive in the Lone Star State, and we look forward to the job growth and services that will be provided with the establishment of TIAA’s new corporate center in Frisco.”

The Star development is also home to the Texas headquarters of Keurig Dr Pepper.

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