- Cousins Properties formed a joint venture with Trammell Crow Co. to buy the 2.3-acre Uptown Dallas site where Morgan Stanley plans a $1.2 billion regional hub, and holds a 97.5% equity stake.
- Cousins put in $50 million at formation, $42 million for land and $8 million for predevelopment, while Trammell Crow stays the day-to-day developer and Cousins takes a limited partner role.
- Cousins has so far committed only to the land, leaving construction to Trammell Crow, which expects to break ground on the McKinney Avenue tower in the first half of 2027.
Cousins Properties is buying into Morgan Stanley’s Uptown Dallas future through a land purchase alongside Trammell Crow Co., The Real Deal reports.
The Atlanta company owns 97.5% of the equity and wrote a $50 million check at the outset, the Dallas Morning News reported. Land took $42 million of that, and predevelopment took the other $8 million.
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Who Does What
Trammell Crow keeps the development reins and will run the project day to day. Cousins sits as a limited partner. The package also includes additional leasehold and fee interests, and the full price of the land stayed private.
Cousins CEO Colin Connolly told the Dallas Morning News the company has committed only to the land so far.
The Tower Behind the Deal
Morgan Stanley picked Uptown for its regional hub in September, with $43 million in incentives from the state. The new building at 2401 McKinney Ave. is expected to cost Trammell Crow about $650 million, with the bank putting in more than $589 million.
In the meantime, 1,500 employees are set to use 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place on Ross Avenue. That temporary lease is expected to cost the bank $97 million.
Zoom Out
When we first covered Morgan Stanley’s commitment, Gov. Greg Abbott had announced a $684 million hub aiming for 3,800 employees by the end of 2035. The permanent home is a 700,000-square-foot tower that the bank will lease for 16 years starting in 2031.
The site sits less than a mile from Goldman Sachs’ $709 million, 800,000-square-foot campus at 2323 N. Field St., which is slated for completion in 2028.
Why It Matters
Uptown’s pull is financial services. JLL’s analysis of Dallas Central Appraisal District data put Uptown property values above $10 billion this year, edging past downtown, as banks and the Texas Stock Exchange set up there.
For Cousins, the land stake is a low-commitment way into that demand. Its leasing has been strong: our brief on its record quarter showed more than 930,000 square feet of deals in Q1 2026, average rents up 18% and a portfolio near 92% leased, with management open to development where returns beat acquisitions.
What’s Next
Trammell Crow aims to break ground by midyear 2027.
Before then, a Truluck’s restaurant now on the site is relocating to One Uptown at 2619 McKinney Ave.
