Alpharetta is a finalist for Morgan Stanley’s $700M regional HQ
One of the world’s largest financial institutions has narrowed its search for a new regional headquarters to two locations: metro Atlanta and Dallas.
Fortune 500 investment bank Morgan Stanley has requested an $18.5 million incentive package alongside additional tax breaks from Dallas officials as part of its office expansion plans. The Dallas City Council will consider the measure Wednesday, which would clear a path for Morgan Stanley to lease about 700,000 square feet in a new tower as part of a 16-year deal, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
But city documents name Alpharetta — a city 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta where Morgan Stanley ranks among its largest employers — as the primary competition to justify that incentive request. Morgan Stanley declined to comment to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and its brokerage representative, JLL, did not respond to a request for comment.
Morgan Stanley’s plans, if they move forward in Texas, represent a $700 million investment with roughly 3,800 jobs by 2035. If Alpharetta ends up the victor, it’s unclear if the investment and job figures would remain the same.
Pitting states or cities against one another is a common economic development tactic often used to request taxpayer-backed incentives. Charlie Jewell, economic development director for Alpharetta, declined to comment on whether Morgan Stanley has engaged city officials or requested potential incentives.
“The city of Alpharetta remains committed to supporting companies that invest and grow in our community,” Jewell said in an email. “We value Morgan Stanley’s presence in Alpharetta and appreciate the role they play in our local economy.”
Although Alpharetta’s odds of being selected are unknown, what is clear is Morgan Stanley would likely need to finance the construction of a new office tower or complex if it chooses Atlanta’s Northside. Currently, there are no blocks of high-end office space north of Midtown capable of meeting Morgan Stanley’s stated needs.
The last large block of new office space under construction is 224,000 square feet in Rockefeller Group’s 60-story Midtown skyscraper 1072 West Peachtree. Regional bank Pinnacle Financial Partners announced Thursday it selected another new Midtown tower, Ten Twenty Spring, for its holding company’s headquarters, leasing 165,000 square feet.
Both those blocks are less than a third of what Morgan Stanley said it plans to occupy if it selects Dallas. A 700,000-square-foot lease signing also would represent the largest office deal announced in the Atlanta area since NCR’s Midtown campus in 2018.
Morgan Stanley is one of Alpharetta’s largest private employers, housing 13 business divisions and more than 3,000 employees in the surrounding area, according to its website. Those office locations include Georgia 400 Center and about 216,000 square feet across the Edison Alpharetta office park.
The company’s Texas plans include building a tower in Uptown Dallas, housing most of the regional headquarters’ employees. The site is owned by CBRE and its subsidiary Trammell Crow Co., which proposed plans in 2020 to build a 27-story building. Both companies declined to comment to the AJC.