Morgan Stanley is looking into moving its headquarters to Hudson Yards.
The massive bank is in the early stages of looking into buying 2M SF of office space in 50 Hudson Yards, the Wall Stree Journal reports. The 2.9M SF planned skyscraper, where BlackRock has committed to taking 850k SF is projected to be the most expensive office building in New York City history.
Morgan Stanley is also looking at other sites at Hudson Yards, and a spokesperson was clear that many options are on the table, telling the WSJ that the bank may also upgrade its current space.
Buying office space would be consistent with how Morgan Stanley has done things in Manhattan in the past; it owns its 1.3M SF HQ building at 1585 Broadway, several avenues east of the deepening thicket of new towers at Hudson Yards. It also owns office space it uses elsewhere in Manhattan, and in Westchester County.
A sale of 1585 Broadway could result in a windfall of more than $1B for the bank. It has owned the property since 1993, when it paid $180M for it.
