Morgan Stanley mulls moving New York City headquarters

Firm is considering buying space near Hudson River, site of BlackRock's new offices

Morgan Stanley is said to be considering moving its headquarters from a building in Times Square to the Hudson Yards site now under construction on the Far West Side of Manhattan.

The site, built on air rights over a Long Island Rail Road train yard located between Pennsylvania Station and the Hudson River, is considered one of the last major development sites in Manhattan.

According to a report in The Real Deal, a New York real estate publication, Morgan Stanley is exploring the purchase of 2 million square feet at 50 Hudson Yards, the 2.9 million-square-foot tower where BlackRock is planning to move its headquarters.

BlackRock has agreed to lease 850,000 square feet across 15 floors. Morgan Stanley’s possible space would be larger than the space it currently occupies in its own building at 1585 Broadway, 570,000 feet at 522 Fifth Avenue, and a campus in suburban Purchase, N.Y.