When the Bowery Savings Bank was planning its new uptown location, savings banks in New York were mostly limited to one location, a restriction that was not lifted until 1923. In November 1920, the bank circumvented this restriction by acquiring the Universal Savings Bank in lower Manhattan, which then relocated to 42nd Street. The Bowery Savings Bank was the first bank in the state to take advantage of a special provision in the state law, which allowed a savings bank to operate two branches if it merged with another savings bank. The Bowery Savings Bank took over the Universal Savings Bank in January 1921 and started operating a temporary branch next to Grand Central Terminal. That month, Mandel sold the Bowery Savings Bank the eastern half of the Grand Union Hotel site, which would be developed into an office building at 110 East 42nd Street. As per the purchase agreement between the bank and the corporation, the structures were to contain interlocking structures, including what was believed to be the city's tallest party wall separating two buildings.