The symbol of Manhattan’s image as the foremost financial center in the world, the city’s Financial District is an iconic destination for all companies in finance and banking. Shorthanded as FiDi, the submarket contains nearly one half of Downtown Manhattan’s total office inventory, totaling nearly 40 million square feet of space.
Many of the neighborhood’s classic pre-war commercial buildings, no longer suited to financial services firms with greater needs of amenities and fixtures, have been converted into luxury residential buildings, slowly transforming the area into a vibrant neighborhood of downtown.
Housing the headquarters of such institutions as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Financial District is the place to be for anyone in finance. The neighborhood houses Wall Street, the area’s icon for financial strength and one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of capitalism. Companies headquartered here include Goldman Sachs, whose home is in the 200 West Street building, Deutsche Bank, at 60 Wall Street, and HSBC, at the Marine Midland Building at 140 Broadway.
A large inventory is leased to companies in a volatile industry, thus maintaining vacancy at relatively high levels by Lower Manhattan standards—in the 11-12 percent range. The overall average rent price per square foot rests around the $57 mark. The rise and development of fintech companies, and their rapid capitalization may well result in the stabilization of office space here and a new evolution for the Financial District.
Few places are better served by public transportation. When the subways were built they all pointed to the Financial District. The 4 and 5 East Side trains run under Broadway, while the N and R trains operate beneath Trinity Place. The West Side 1 and 2 trains stop right at Wall and William streets.
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