Lower Manhattan landlords compete for bank's tenancy

[NEW YORK] A venerable Wall Street firm's search for a new home has set off a fierce competition among developers in lower Manhattan, highlighting the challenges in a commercial district that has acres of vacant office space even as towers are under construction.

The firm, Bank of New York Mellon, plans to sell its current headquarters, a 50-storey Art Deco building at 1 Wall Street, and move to smaller space in lower Manhattan or New Jersey.

The jockeying to lure BNY Mellon, a 229-year-old commercial bank, underscores the changing fortunes of lower Manhattan, where financial institutions are a significant but shrinking presence, as Wall Street sheds employees.

The battle also illuminates the continuing use of public subsidies to fill new and already subsidised office towers under construction at the World Trade Center site, more than 12 years after the ter…