A former Gold’s Gym at the southwest corner of McKinney Avenue and Fairmount Street is being demolished, clearing the way for what could become a more than $1.3 billion high-rise anchored by investment banking giant Morgan Stanley.
By Tuesday afternoon, crews had torn down a large portion of the old gym at 2425 McKinney Ave. and were preparing to remove the rubble. Work began Monday afternoon and is expected to last a week or two, on-site workers told The Dallas Morning News. Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to questions about the demolition.
A demolition permit was filed for the site in April. Dallas Central Appraisal District records list Murphy Plaza LLC as the site’s owner. Deed records show that in 2020 Murphy Plaza LLC leased the land to an entity backed by CBRE’s Trammell Crow Co. for 99 years.
Developer Trammell Crow Co., which owns or controls the land for the planned tower, confirmed the 99-year lease but provided no other details on the plans for the site.
The address has been strongly linked to a new Morgan Stanley regional hub. In June, Dallas City Council approved an $18.5 million incentive package and additional tax abatements to support a planned multiphase development that would see the company occupy a new Uptown high-rise. The demolition is just an early part of the plan.
Under the plan, Fountain Place would serve as a temporary base while Morgan Stanley waits for its new Uptown tower. Morgan Stanley would lease about 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place at 1445 Ross Ave. for just over four years. Around 2031, the banking giant would then occupy roughly 700,000 square feet in a new Uptown tower centered around 2401 McKinney Ave. for 16 years.
Morgan Stanley plans to invest nearly $97 million and bring 1,500 jobs to Fountain Place by 2031. The firm will invest more than $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. The developer is expected to invest another $650 million to build Morgan Stanley’s new office, bringing the estimated value of the development to more than $1.3 billion, city documents show.
The News first reported in January that Morgan Stanley was eyeing the Uptown site. The land includes the gym and Truluck’s seafood restaurant. Plans for the restaurant remain unclear.
While the bank has said nothing regarding its Dallas plans, city documents show that Morgan Stanley narrowed its search for an operational hub to two cities — Dallas and Alpharetta, Ga. Morgan Stanley has more than 3,000 employees in Alpharetta, making it one of the Atlanta suburb’s largest employers.
Morgan Stanley has made its desire for Dallas no secret. The Dallas City Plan and Zoning Commission approved a request for Morgan Stanley’s signage on skyscraper Fountain Place. The certificates of appropriateness for two 366 square foot signs were passed under consent and without debate.
The move would be yet another win for Dallas’ burgeoning Y’all Street financial district, centered around the city’s Uptown and Victory Park neighborhoods.
Update: This story has been updated with additional information regarding the ownership of property at McKinney Ave. 2425.