Morgan Stanley picks Dallas for expansion outside NYC — stepping up Wall Street exodus following Mamdani election: ‘Wake-up call'

Morgan Stanley has picked Dallas for a major expansion of its banking empire outside New York City — accelerating Wall Street’s migration to Texas following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, The Post has learned. The financial giant plans to relocate up to 4,800 jobs to the state by 2031, passing over Alpharetta, Georgia, according to municipal filings reviewed by The Post. The firm will anchor a new $1.3 billion, 709,000-square-foot skyscraper in the fast-growing Texas metropolis known to financiers as “Y’all Street”. The Wall Street behemoth led by CEO Ted Pick — which began exploring options outside the Big Apple earlier this year following the election of the Big Apple’s socialist mayor — had been weighing the new regional hub against Alpharetta, where it already has 3,000 employees. Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani irritated Wall Street’s financial titans with a video taking a pop at Citadel founder Ken Griffin and his Manhattan pied-a-terre. But in June, the Dallas City Council approved incentives including an $18.5 million grant tied to specific hiring benchmarks and a 10-year, 90% property tax abatement — and Morgan Stanley has since plowed ahead with the project, public filings show. The city’s 15-member Plan Commission quietly rubber-stamped final approval on Aug. 6 for the bank to mount 366.3-square-foot illuminated exterior signs on the Fountain Place tower downtown, following a preliminary sign committee vote in July, filings show. They clearly list the bank as a tenant. Demolition crews also began clearing a former Gold’s Gym on McKinney Avenue last week to make way for the permanent skyscraper. “This is the latest in what should be a wake-up call for City Hall,” said Steve Fulop, CEO of the pro-business Partnership for NYC. “Apollo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have all highlighted Texas as a major hub in just the last few months, with thousands of jobs headed there,” Fulop added. “Texas is playing the long game and rolling out the red carpet for jobs, while New York keeps upgrading the tax calculator. The contrast is pretty clear.“ Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick has not commented on the plans, but public records show the bank’s decision has been made. Morgan Stanley and City Hall did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson declined to comment. Morgan Stanley will execute the move in two phases. The bank will first occupy 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place on 1445 Ross Ave. in downtown Dallas, where contractors will complete a $97 million interior renovation. Workers will eventually move to the $1.3 billion skyscraper to be located at 2401 McKinney Ave. The signage filings, submitted by Dallas land attorney Victoria Morris, propose installing illuminated, 366.3-square-foot attached signs featuring three-inch back-lit channel letters reading “Morgan Stanley.” Construction in Dallas has begun even as state records lag. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows no new filings for the Fountain Place work or the Uptown tower. Morgan Stanley has also published a slew of new job openings in the city on the professional networking platform LinkedIn. The project continues a major shift of Wall Street firms to Texas in search of lower costs and favorable tax rules.