Financial services sector takes note of Stamford.

The State of Connecticut is reaping the rewards of its decision to offer Swiss banking giant, UBS Warburg, over $100 million in tax incentives to move to Stamford in 1997.

Earlier this year, the city announced it would welcome the world's fifth largest bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, to a one million square foot site just across the street from UBS' 12-acre campus.

This is the latest in a plethora of deals with financial services firms that have helped turn Fairfield County into a financial services stronghold for which all indicators continue to be positive.

Jeffrey Newman, executive vice president of W&M Properties, a major owner of class A property in Stamford, said, "We at W&M have long recognized Stamford as a great city that has emerged as a strong and self-sufficient market in its own right, as well as a workable satellite in the Manhattan market. But now that pace has picked up even more."

In W&M's Stamford buildings alone, several financial services companies --including Bank of Ireland, Barrow Street Capital, Mason Capital Management and Ziff Brothers Investment--have relocated from Greenwich or even Manhattan.

However, it's not a case of a mass exodus from the expensive Manhattan market that's drawing these firms, according to Newman, who asserts the suburb itself has become an independent sub-market.

"We're not a magnet to draw out people from Manhattan. Many companies haven't left Manhattan entirely, they just have offices out here as well," he said.

While a $100 million tax package from the State couldn't have hurt the Bank of Scotland's decision to locate there, spokesman, Peter Ward, said it was the area's accessibility and flexibility that sealed the deal.

"We looked at a number of sites in the north east," said Ward. "We chose Stamford because it is close to major transportation, it has a well educated labor pool and the city has developed a good reputation for financial services firms. Another key thing is that it is still close to our main employee base in Greenwich and New York."

The Bank of Ireland has leased 22,000 s/f at W&M's 300 First Stamford Place through 2017. The bank chose the Stamford property primarily because it could accommodate its growing global markets division. "We need a lot of space that can accommodate our growth. First Stamford Place, with its 810,000 s/f campus, allows us to continue to expand," said John T. Connors, the bank's U.S. country manager.

"The bank wanted to relocate to Stamford, where the presence of large international institutions is growing," said Cushman & Wakefield director Peter J. Sweetser, who represented the bank, along with Cushman & Wakefield senior director Christopher B. O'Callaghan.

Jay Hruska, executive vice president at Cushman & Wakefield, agrees there are a number of reasons why Connecticut has been considered a good alternative market place for the financial services sector.

"For example," he said, "firms are finding that they don't necessarily need to be physically on Wall Street to conduct business there; price increases and decreased availability of quality space in New York; principals living on the outskirts of urban New York, such as Connecticut, wanting to be close to home for quality of life issues; and the convenience of not having to make the commute into the city."

The submarket continues to offer the majority of high quality large blocks of available space in the county and Hruska believes the top flight amenities are playing a major role in the trend.

The Wilton Corporate Center--two interconnected Class-A office buildings, known as Riverview and Courtside, at 187 Danbury Road in Wilton--offers tenants such as full-service facilities as a cafeteria, an outdoor dining area, fitness center equipped with showers and lockers as well as a security/reception area. The complex is 92.5% leased to nine tenants, including financial firms A.G. Edwards and the Bank of America.

"Sure, people are attracted to the quality of amenities," agreed JoAnn McGrath, director of leasing at Merrit 7 Corporate Park, Norwalk. "They have fitness centers, car washes, security, parking, they're close to home, and they have everything right at work. I worked in Manhattan for years, and now I've worked 10 years in Connecticut, and it's a great alternative."

The duration of the leases being signed in the market are indication of the solidity of the base, according to Tom Pajolex, senior vice president of CBRE, who, along with executive vice presidents Douglas P. Marlow and Kenneth D. Rapp, vice president Christopher Mansfield and senior financial analyst Casey J. Hirschhorn, just repped global asset management firm Legg Mason & Co. in a 150,874 s/f lease at W&M's 100 First Stamford Place through 2024.

"When you move a large number of people you hope it's for a long time," said Pajolex, "The lease has to be signed for a minimum of 10 years if the land is 5,000 s/f or more."

The new lease is the result of Legg Mason's recent acquisition of Citigroup's asset management division, which had been occupying 290,000 s/ f throughout the First Stamford Place campus.

Of Citigroup's leased space, W&M will be recapturing 89,000 s/f effective this coming June, resulting in the largest vacancy in First Stamford Place since W&M bought the property in January of 2001.

Another 52,000 s/f of Citigroup's leased space remains unaffected through year-end 2012, at which point Legg Mason has the option to renew.

"Bringing to market such a large quality block of space for the first time is an exciting challenge," said Newman. "We believe we're hitting the market at just the right time, with class A space at the Stamford Transportation Center in such high demand.

"We've become a pre-diversified economy, if Manhattan would experience a downturn, sure we'll feel it, but we've become an independent sub-market."

Added McGrath, "The companies that have moved here will stay and grow, because we are flexible. A company can expand and contract, while as in New York it wouldn't be able to move."