UBS Hires C&W to Market Stamford Building

STAMFORD, CT—State and city officials here are on edge after learning late last week that Swiss banker UBS has hired commercial brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield to market its office tower on Washington Blvd. here.

Cushman & Wakefield confirmed last week that it has been hired by UBS to market the 14-story, 725,000-square-foot office building at 677 Washington Blvd., according to the Hartford Courant. UBS has been cutting its investment banking workforce over the past few years. In 2011 the company received $20 million in state incentives to keep 2,000 jobs at its three leased office buildings in downtown Stamford for five years. The deal with Gov. Dannel Malloy at the time was made when UBS announced it was cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide.

Jay Hruska, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield and lead on the UBS assignment, says, "We are trying to assist the owner in evaluating their options as it relates to potentially backfilling that building if any space becomes available, which it's very early to tell.”

"We're doing research on how this building could be positioned if portions of it might come back on the market,” Hruska adds. "Who would be candidate tenants for it? We've already received calls from prospective tenants of all shapes and sizes.”

Gov. Malloy earlier last week hinted of a possible move by UBS regarding its Stamford property when he said in an editorial board meeting with Hearst Connecticut Media concerning UBS's presence in Stamford, "I don't think they'll meet the full five years," he said. "I have doubts is what I'm saying."

If UBS fails to maintain the 2,000 worker count by the end of next year, it must repay the $20-million loan and interest. "I'm confident that we're going to hang onto a chunk of UBS, very confident," Gov. Malloy said to the editorial board. "I believe that they will continue to have a footprint." See story in the Hartford Courant.