Financial giant UBS has not only renewed its lease at 1285 Ave. of the Americas but has expanded from around 700,000 square feet to 890,000 square feet, The Post has learned.
The deal, which was signed at the end of the year, also extends the lease from 2015 to the end of 2020.
While the five-year extension is relatively short by commercial real-estate standards, it is good news for the city from a firm that has been shedding employees around the globe.
UBS also has one five-year extension then either two, five-year options or one 10-year option.
According to documents reviewed by The Post, the bank also has expansion rights and rights of first offer on space in the building.
Bob Alexander of CBRE represented UBS, while a Jones Lang LaSalle team led by Peter Riguardi represented the building ownership headed by AXA-Equitable. None of the firms or brokers returned requests for comment.
UBS also has just over 465,000 square feet at 299 Park Ave. on a lease that ends in 2018.
In 2011, UBS seriously considered relocating from its Stamford, Conn., headquarters, where it has the world’s largest trading floor, to 800,000 square feet at Silverstein Properties’ as yet unbuilt 3 World Trade Center before Connecticut lured the bank back with a large retention package.
The Manhattan expansion is considered critical to attracting and retaining employees who are put off by being an hour-long train ride outside the city.
In October, AXA re-jiggered its building ownership, selling its 50 percent stake for $587.5 million, including $402 million in cash, to a non-insurance subsidiary.