UBS shopping for NYC-area office space

Swiss bank UBS is said to be on the hunt for some 800,000 square feet of New York-area office space, making it the largest tenant in the market, Bloomberg reported. UBS already has roughly 5 million square feet in the tri-state area, including offices at 299 Park Avenue and 1285 Avenue of the Americas, Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken, N.J. and a trading complex in Stamford, Conn. Some of the bank’s existing leases are expiring in 2013, though it is unclear which ones, and as such, the bank is beginning to search for offices in new and existing buildings in Manhattan and its outlying areas, according to Kris Kagel, a UBS spokesperson. Sources said UBS had already requested proposals from landlords, but Kagel said a decision likely wouldn’t come for several months. “It would definitely be a boon to the landlord that lands them,” said Robert Sammons, research director for Colliers ABR. “Manhattan rents are at or near their low point. It remains an ideal market for the tenant.” [Bloomberg]