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Thanksgiving will come in late October for either Stamford or Westchester, according to Swiss Re America Corp. Company officials said they're in the final stages of deciding where to move 650 employees and locate a multimillion-dollar headquarters.
Swiss Re's move from New York City -- the largest corporate relocation of 1995 for either Fairfield or Westchester county -- has set off a bidding war between the two areas. A decision is expected in October.
At stake in the efforts to woo the $1.5 billion company is Swiss Re's large payroll and, possibly, a new 300,000-square-foot complex similar to the $140 million, 560,000-square-foot headquarters Swiss Bank will build in Stamford.
Patricia Lioi, a vice president of Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurance company, said the company is considering three sites -- the former NYNEX corporate center in White Plains, a vacant parcel in the KingsWood office park in Armonk, and a site in downtown Stamford at the corner of Tresser Boulevard and Greyrock Place.
Stamford may have the advantage due to the presence of Swiss Bank and 11 reinsurance companies headquartered in the city. Connecticut "is probably reaching more right now" in offering incentives to Swiss Re, according to a real estate official involved in the site search. Both Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland and New York Gov. George E. Pataki have made phone calls to top officials at the...