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Some of Wall Street's most notable takeovers these days involve office buildings being converted to residential space.
Battery Park City and many developments east of City Hall have long been home to residential properties. But the marquee addresses on Wall Street itself have been more often homes to brokerage firms, insurance companies and banks rather than homes for lawyers, entrepreneurs - and even models.
"We never initially thought of it as a place to live," said Kerry Morgan, 18, who just moved to the city from Buffalo to work as a model. But after looking "everywhere" in the city with her roommate, including the East Village and Stuyvesant Town, she and her roommate settled on The Crest at 63 Wall St.
"For the money, you get more than you could at other places," Morgan said of her one-bedroom that she's sharing for $2,525 a month.
Now, kitchen appliances are taking over where trading floors once stood. Boardrooms have given way to pool halls. And bank vaults have been changed over to bicycle-storage sheds.
Sure, there still may be psychological drawbacks to making your home on a storied street that is the nexus of American capitalism. But residents say they hardly notice the near-lockdown security barricades near the neighboring New York Stock Exchange or that the nearest full-scale grocery store is five to seven blocks away.
A catchy address
And the cachet of "living on Wall Street" certainly impresses family and friends.
"People think I live at the Exchange," joked Jose Medina, 22, who works for an investment bank in Midtown and shares with three friends a three-bedroom converted into a four-bedroom for $4,220 a month at 45 Wall St. "It has a nice aura to it."
Timia Flanagan, 32, an attorney who lives downtown with her husband, Brian, said restaurants do close earlier and grocery stores are farther away than in other neighborhoods. But the "apartments were bigger" downtown.
And residents find their own way around these issues. "Fresh Direct makes it easier," said Monica Shaw, 33, referring to the online grocery-delivery service. And she says she would definitely be paying a lot more for amenities such as a 24-hour...