It used to be that the business crowd spent its days in shiny office towers while bohemian creatives toiled away in industrial warehouses. But many financial companies are still struggling to woo employees back downtown, and fashion editorials are now glamorizing corporate culture. At the intersection of all this is 161 Water Street, an office tower in Manhattan’s Financial District that was purchased by real estate firm 99c in 2022 after spending much of the pandemic empty. Since then, it has been rechristened the Water Street Associates (WSA) building and courted new, artistically minded tenants like V Magazine and clothing brand Bode. Adding to its reputation as a cultural hub, it has been playing host to no shortage of after-hours...
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