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Morgan Stanley is expected to occupy downtown\u2019s Fountain Place office tower while it waits for a roughly 700,000-square-foot campus in Uptown Dallas to be built.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
For investment banking giant Morgan Stanley and the city of Dallas, it\u2019s all over but the shouting.<\/p>\n
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The bank has signed a lease<\/a> to occupy a significant portion of the green-glass, rocket-shaped Fountain Place skyscraper downtown\u00a0\u2014 the strongest sign yet that North Texas is poised to land the company\u2019s billion-dollar regional hub.<\/p>\n Morgan Stanley<\/a> would occupy the downtown tower for a few years while it waits for a roughly 700,000-square-foot campus in Uptown Dallas to be built. The move would be a win on two fronts for Dallas. The move would bring thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While the Fountain Place space would be temporary, it would be a win for a central business district that\u2019s seen corporate users such as\u00a0\u00a0AT&T,<\/a> Neiman Marcus, Bank of America and others shut their doors or leave for new digs just up the street or clear across the metro.<\/p>\n The new Uptown tower would further solidify Dallas\u2019 Y\u2019all Street financial district, centered on McKinney Avenue, Klyde Warren Park and the nearby Victory Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n City, state and Morgan Stanley officials have not commented on the lease or the bank\u2019s long-term plans in North Texas. However, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told The Dallas Morning News the downtown lease has been signed.<\/p>\n 1. The bank\u2019s lease has room to grow<\/p>\n The firm signed a lease in mid-July to occupy 123,000 square feet at Fountain Place<\/a>, 1445 Ross Ave. The deal includes an option for Morgan Stanley to increase its footprint in the 60-story tower as needed. The lease will run for about five years, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Dallas Morning News.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n JLL, the firm representing Morgan Stanley, did not immediately respond to questions about the lease. City of Dallas representatives did not respond to multiple calls and text messages regarding the deal. Morgan Stanley and CBRE, the firm that handles leasing for Fountain Place, declined to comment Friday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Initial data from real estate firm CoStar estimates that the vacancy rate at Fountain Place will drop from 54% to 34% if Morgan Stanley occupies about 255,000 square feet, as outlined in previous city documents.<\/p>\n 2. The Uptown tower will be a billion-dollar project<\/p>\n City documents released earlier this year outlined a two-pronged process that would see Morgan Stanley eventually occupy a new high-rise at McKinney Avenue and Fairmount Street.<\/p>\n Morgan Stanley would lease about 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place. Around 2031, the banking giant would then occupy its new hub at 2401 McKinney Ave. for 16 years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morgan Stanley plans to invest nearly $97 million and bring 1,500 jobs to Fountain Place by 2031. The firm would invest more than $587 million in the new Uptown building by 2031, city documents show. The company would 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\u2019s new office, bringing the estimated value of the development to more than $1.2 billion, updated city documents show.<\/p>\n The bank is also seeking state-level incentives. Morgan Stanley wants the Uptown site designated as a \u201ctriple jumbo\u201d enterprise zone\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 a distinction saved for megaprojects that create at least 500 jobs. Companies that qualify receive refunds of up to $3.75 million in sales and use tax. The jobs are expected to pay an average annual wage of $128,000.<\/p>\n 3. The city approved one of its largest economic incentive packages for Morgan\u00a0Stanley<\/p>\n In June, Dallas City Council approved an $18.5 million incentive package<\/a> and additional tax abatements to support a planned multiphase development. The deal is one of the largest in the city\u2019s history.<\/p>\n For comparison,\u00a0Plano gave AT&T $20 million in incentives and a lengthy property tax rebate for the company\u2019s more than $1 billion global headquarters. City officials in the Collin County suburb said it was the largest incentive package\u00a0Plano has given to a private employer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 4. There are other signs Morgan Stanley is expanding in Dallas<\/p>\n Golds Gym in Dallas, pictured above earlier this month, is being demolished to make way for a possible Morgan Stanley high-rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nick Wooten\/Staff<\/p>\n The downtown lease is the strongest sign. But it\u2019s not the only one.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the Dallas City Plan and Zoning Commission approved a request for Morgan Stanley\u2019s signage on the Fountain Place tower. Demolition work also began on part of the Uptown site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n