New-York tribune., 1919-12-28
Big Downtown
! Market Is Due
! To w all Street.
Business Expansion of Banks
and of Stock Exchange
Firms Has Created Brisk
Competition for Space
By E. P. Blake

OF Laurence, Blake G jewell
All the reports and indices of trade
show that business is at the very top
notch of activity, except as interrupted
by the various strikes which have pre-
vailed. and in spite of these the vol
umc OF transactions was greater in De
cember than in November
There is a strong demand to-day for
improved real estate in nearly every
section OF the Borough of Manhattan.
In the financial district many proper
ties have passed into new hands, the
purchasers being in most cases occu-
pants Of the buildings. The enormous
business expansion of banks, bankers
and stock brokers has caused the short
age of Office space in the district south
of Liberty Street, east of Broadway,
west of William Street and north of
Beaver Street. The Stock Exchange con-
trolls the south side Of Wall Street from
New Street to Broad Street The New
Street corner is being improved with
an addition to the main building, and
when the present leases expire on the
Wall Street corner another addition
viii be built, so that the Stock Ex-
change will control the entire frontage
on Wall Street, from New Street to
Broad Street
Growth of Shipping interests
The marine insurance district this
year created center at South William.
William, Beaver and Stone streets The
growth Of this business has caused the
shipping interests to move over to the
vicinity of Hanover Square, Front.
Water, lower Broad, Pearl and White
hall streets. Steamship lines have pur-
chased number of buildings for their
own occupancy and forced the present
occupants to seek space elsewhere
he coffee, tea, sugar and spice deal
crs near Wall, Water Front and South
streets have had successful year, and
activity is expected in this section very
shortly.
The fire insurance and fidelity COM
panles and insurane brokers have been
forced northward on William Street,
cast and west on John Street and
Maiden Lane and it is my opinion that
Fulton Platt and even Gold Street
viii soon be the home of these insur-
ancc interests. Their removal north
ward, east and west has been due in
part to the fact that the Federal Re
serve Bank is to erect handsome
structure next year on the block
bounded by Nassau and Liberty
streets and Maiden Lane, with the ex-
ception Of the William Street front,
which IS covered with an old seven
story office building known as the Mon
t'uk. and is not included in the site of
the Federal Reserve Bank.
District West of Broadway
believe that the district west of
Broadway south of Chambers Street
VII soon be very active, because the
land is still mainly held by estates and
ls cheap IN COMPARISON with prices that
pre- all east Of Broadway, south of Full
on street look for an expensive
hu ding campaign in this section and
believe ;he fact that the Curb
Aiarkct has purchased the old American
Baak Note property on Trinity Place.
running thrOu h to Greenwich Street.
north Of Rector Street, will have q
tendency TO draw the curb brokers
from Brood and New streets to the
Nlcin tF Of their new home.
The midtown section has been ex-
tremely active of late, and | believe
that there will be more activity in the
section from Fourteenth to Thirty
tAlra Str. 1T, Lexington TO Eighth Ave
Nuc. in the comin~ year. | know of
many instances where properties have
been sold two and three times and a
profit has been made by each of the
sellers, and in a number of cases the
last buyer could have been the first
purchaser if he had acted quickly.
There has been very little building
of apartment houses, except in the
Park Avenue section, and l feel that
the builders of these structures will
soon be induced to start new opera