Swiss Bank's tower for sale

Real Estate Weekly, June 13, 2001 by Parke Chapman

The trophy office building that Saks occupies will be sold off by its owner, Swiss Bank UBS, Real Estate Weekly has learned.

A source confirmed that UBS plans to market 10 East 50th Street, the 36-story tower located between Madison and Fifth.

The source said that the decision to sell the building had been "ongoing," and was not made abruptly.

They also denied that 500 staffers who now work in the Swiss Bank Tower will be relocated to 299 Park Avenue.

However, another insider said that UBS recently made an in-house announcement that the employees would be relocated to 299 Park Avenue, where UBS Warburg, the investment bank arm, rents 21 of the 42 total floors.

Costar reports that 1,500 UBS employees work here. Fisher Brothers Management, the prime leasing company at 299 Park, would not comment on the potential move.

Cushman & Wakefield, the prime leasing company and property manager, would not comment and a spokesman for UBS also declined to comment. The Swiss Bank Tower looms over Fifth Avenue and boasts one of the city's best-known retailers. Saks occupies the bottom nine floors of the building. Other tenants in the building include Accenture, Nippon Steel USA, and NEC Industries. UBS occupies the mother lode of space here, with 15 floors.