Left: 11 Times Square. Top Right: Google’s Port Authority building. Bottom Right: 14 Wall Street

For the tech companies of New York’s “Silicon Alley” (originally centered on the Flatiron District), newer isn’t necessarily better when it comes to office space.

Some have opted for sleek, new construction like Microsoft’s offices at 11 Times Square. Others, including Google and many smaller startups, have found homes in buildings that are over a hundred years old.

This may sound ironic, but there's a healthy “tech” market for late 19^th and early 20^th century properties whose building envelopes are maintained and their historic details preserved. Older buildings can accommodate the operations of a variety of firms, including those known for digital products and services. Especially important for startups, such addresses are almost always more affordable than new buildings.

Lower Manhattan has an abundance of office space in repurposed historic buildings, like our own office at 14 Wall Street (originally the Bankers Trust Company building by Trowbridge & Livingston, 1912). We’re a tech firm as well as an engineering and architecture firm, so we can attest to the suitability of our space for a 21^st-century practice.

These trends resonate with our mantra that “the greenest building is the one that’s already built,” meaning that the embodied energy of existing structures is worth preserving. And when you factor in the appeal of historic architectural detail, older buildings can give new construction a run for its money.