Bank of New York Co. is ceding its two-century-long occupation of the northeast corner of Wall and William streets.
In a field of 20 bidders, Corsair Group, a New York real estate investment bank, last Friday won a two-step bidding process to buy the building for $37.5 million, an estimated $122 per square foot.
Bank of New York's executive and administrative headquarters will be moved to 1 Wall St., the bank said.
The sale was necessary because the bank had simply outgrown its roots, said Thomas Falus, president of Cushman & Wakefield of New York Inc., a real estate brokerage, which represented Bank of New York in the deal.
The move will also create efficiencies for the bank's operations, said Bank of New York spokesman Paul Leyden. The $60 billion-asset company will continue to occupy space at 101 Barclay St., 32 Old Slip, and 90 Washington St., all in New York's downtown financial district and not far from the new Wall Street headquarters.
Bank of New York's trading operations will be concentrated at the Old Slip office. Its back-office and technical operations will be at the Barclay Street address, Mr. Leyden said.
The old 32-story headquarters, built in 1928, probably will be converted to apartments, with commercial space on the ground floor. The deal to sell the building is expected to close in the next six months, Mr. Leyden said.
The corner where the building is located, 48 Wall St., has been home to Bank of New York for 200 years, in a series of headquarters that were constructed and torn down to make way for bigger structures as the bank expanded.
J.P. Morgan & Co., at 60 Wall St., and Bank of New York are among the few commercial banks that own property on Wall Street.
Bank of New York acquired the new headquarters, an art deco office tower across from historic Trinity Church, through its 1988 purchase of Irving Bank Corp.
