Dallas Approves Incentives for $1.3B Morgan Stanley Office Project

The Dallas City Council has approved an $18.5 million financing package and tax abatements for Morgan Stanley’s $1.3 billion, 708,000-square-foot office project, according to a report by The Dallas Morning News. Construction could begin this fall, with an expected completion in 2031.

Dallas is one of the locations considered by Morgan Stanley, with another being in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Ga., where the bank employs more than 3,000 people.

The Metroplex project is set to rise at the corner of McKinney Avenue and Fairmount Street, roughly halfway between the downtown area and Uptown Dallas. Notably, Trammell Crow Co. owns the site, which was initially slated for CBRE’s headquarters, but that project never materialized.

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Morgan Stanley could invest $684 million in the project, while the developer may put in $650 million to deliver the core and shell building, bringing the total to $1.3 billion.

Should the bank pick Dallas, it won’t wait until 2031 to expand its footprint, with Morgan Stanley slated to set up a temporary base of operations, leasing some 255,000 square feet at 1445 Ross Ave. for a duration of approximately 52 months. The company earmarked $96.9 million for buildout costs. Goddard Investment Group owns the 1.2 million-square-foot tower dubbed Fountain Place, according to Yardi Matrix.

Morgan Stanley’s incentives up close

The $18.5 million package includes:

• $1 million through the Economic Development Permitting Fee Reimbursement Grant, a program that refunds permitting, inspection or development fees;
• Up to $10 million contingent upon the Economic Development Job Grant, which scales based on the number of employment positions created, with benchmarks set between 2,000 and 4,800 jobs;
• $7.5 million from the Economic Development Grant, a program issued in place of a real property tax abatement.

Incentives also include 90 percent tax abatements for both the temporary lease and the new tower. The lease abatement runs for five years, while the new location deal is set to last 10 years.

Banks line up across Y’all Street in Dallas

Dallas’ pro-business environment, one of the catalysts driving corporate office relocations, continues attracting major finance companies to its so-called Y’all Street. Goldman Sachs broke ground on an 800,000-square-foot office tower in 2023, with then timelines estimating completion in 2027. This project is within walking distance of the site considered by Morgan Stanley.

Less than 1 mile away, Bank of America Tower at Parkside is also under construction, with completion likewise expected in 2027. The financial giant will occupy more than 238,000 square feet at the 500,000-square-foot building. Pacific Elm Properties develops the project with equity from Sixth Street.

Dallas had nearly 2.6 million square feet of office space under construction as of May, according to a Yardi Matrix report. The figure accounted for 0.9 percent of stock, 50 basis points above the national average.