The capital of capitalism might be relocating.
The New York Stock Exchange, which has made its home on Wall Street in lower Manhattan since the early 19th century, is considering moving.
Could the most famous address in business become Battery Park City, a development along the Hudson river where the exchange is looking at vacant space?
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It wouldnt be the same unless they move the whole street over there, said Michael Castagliola, a manager at an investment house who has worked on Wall Street since the 1960s. The stock exchange is an institution. Its like the Yankee Stadium.
City and stock exchange officials stressed no decision had been made.
The exchange could stay put in its increasingly cramped quarters at the intersection of wall and broad streets, expand in the neighbourhood or move about one half mile to Battery Park City.
We continue to explore our options with the city, said stock exchange spokesman Rich Adamonis.
We should have a decision on the location in the next several months, he added.
The possible move away from Wall Street, where the stock exchange began operating in a rented room in 1817, is the latest proposal in a long quest to find more room.
In the last several years, the average daily trading volume has more than doubled to 636 million shares, and the number of listed companies has climbed beyond 3,000, up from about 2,500 in 1994.
Brokers are demanding more room, and the squeeze has been made tighter by the booming market.
The exchange had been looking to buy several buildings on broad street, across from its current home, to tear down and erect new trading areas.
But negotiations have been slowed by financial and legal questions, apparently prompting the exchange to look elsewhere.
The Battery Park City site is just north of the world financial center, and the New York Mercantile Exchange is nearby.
City Hall, which has been pushing business and residential redevelopment in the wall street area, wants the stock exchange to stay in the neighbourhood it made famous.