UBS Does About-Face and Leases 120K SF at Park Avenue Building
By Lauren Elkies Schram March 4, 2016 6:33 pm
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Swiss bank UBS AG, which in early 2013 had plans to leave 800,000 square feet, or 30 floors, at Fisher Brothers’ 299 Park Avenue, has leased 120,000 square feet in the Midtown tower, Winston Fisher, a partner in the firm, told Commercial Observer.
“This [deal involves] taking a new 120,000 square feet that we had never anticipated,” Mr. Fisher said of last week’s lease signing. “We’re delighted to have [UBS].”
The Real Deal broke the news that UBS signed a 13-year deal with a five-year extension for floors eight, nine, 24 and 25 in the 42-story, 1.2-million-square foot building between East 48th and East 49th Streets. Asking rents in the building, with floor plates of about 25,000 square feet, range from $90 to $135 per square foot, a source with knowledge of the deal told CO.
Fisher Brothers faced having to lease 30 empty floors in the 42-story tower, dubbed the UBS Building, following Switzerland’s largest bank’s decision to cut jobs and consolidate, Mr. Fisher said. Now, two years before the company’s lease expiration, Fisher Brothers has 27 of those floors spoken for. Capital One took 250,000 square feet of UBS’ space, GE Capital took 115,000 square feet and the Carlyle Group leased 60,000. UBS has been a tenant in the building since 1981.
Marc Packman represented Fisher Brothers in-house. Robert Alexander, Doug Lehman and Patrick Murphy of CBRE represented the tenant and they declined to comment via a spokeswoman.
Built and managed by Fisher Brothers and designed by Emery Roth & Sons, the tower opened in 1967. Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has a 49.5 percent interest in the property, according to CoStar Group.
