Morgan Stanley Reportedly Picks Uptown Dallas Site for Office

Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to build its next office in Uptown Dallas, salving an economic wound the city expects to suffer when several high-profile businesses vacate the urban core.

The investment bank is considering a site at 2401 McKinney Avenue between Maple Avenue and Fairmount Street for its next office, several sources told the Dallas Business Journal. A Morgan Stanley office tower could employ thousands of employees, according to the publication’s estimates, replenishing a submarket at risk of hollowing.

The existing improvements on the McKinney Avenue site — a seafood restaurant and a defunct gym — will be demolished to make way for a large office tower for Morgan Stanley and potentially other tenants as well, anonymous sources told the outlet. Trammell Crow Company, the development arm of Dallas-based CBRE Group, controls the land.

Spokespeople for Trammell Crow Company and Morgan Stanley did not confirm the deal, but Uptown Dallas Inc. executive director Kelem Butts, developer Bill Cawley and real estate agent Adam Murphy reported that Morgan Stanley has been scouting sites in Uptown.

Morgan Stanley has been looking for a permanent location in Uptown since January, according to the publication. Previously, the company considered a 327,000-square-foot, 20-story office in Plano initially built for Reata Pharmaceuticals but failed to finalize a deal.

A 500,000-square-foot office could accommodate 2,000 to 3,300 financial services employees, the publication estimated.

In the first week of June, news broke that Dallas’ urban core would lose the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Stars and the flagship Neiman Marcus Store. The Mavericks plan to move to the north side of Dallas when their lease ends in 2031, but the Stars plan to leave the city entirely for Plano. The parent company of Neiman Marcus, Saks Global, will shutter the store at 1618 Main Street in September.

In response, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson issued a statement warning of “competition” with neighboring suburbs, such as Plano, for the tax revenue of residents, visitors and businesses.

News of the Mavs, Stars and Neiman Marcus followed a mounting trend of employers favoring the suburbs over Dallas. AT&T plans to leave for Plano by 2028, leaving behind 2 million empty square feet — about 6 percent of all office space in the Downtown Dallas submarket.

— Isaiah Mitchell