new concrete floors and gypsum ceilings and wall panels during the 2005 renovation. Furthermore, the offices were converted into residential apartments, and gypsum paneling was installed on the walls. A fitness center was installed at the bottom of the light court on the second floor. The West Street Building's small footprint and waterside location meant that there was little room for the building's mechanical equipment, the layout of which had been designed mostly by Burt Harrison. On one basement level, there were four boilers, six power generators, elevator equipment, and rooms in which of coal could be stored. Radiators were placed underneath each window, with heat provided by a system of low-pressure exhaust pipes, since the site could be subject to heat losses on windy days. Originally, there was no artificial ventilation except in part of the basement. History Development The formation of the City of Greater New York in 1898 resulted in a sharp increase in the number of buildings being erected in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and by the first decade of the 20th century, the neighborhood had forty new office buildings. These included the United States Express Building (2 Rector Street), the Singer Building, and the Old New York Evening Post Building, which were under construction in the middle of that decade. Among the interested developers was the West Street Improvement Company, a collection of businesspersons in Lower Manhattan. The company, headquartered in the Broadway–Chambers Building, was led by Howard Carroll and co-founded by John Peirce, Walter Roberts, and Judge S. P. McConnell. The West Street Improvement Company sought to erect an office structure particularly for the shipping interests along the Hudson River, the shoreline of which was located at West Street during the early 1900s. They selected a site between Albany and Cedar Streets with a lot length of facing West Street. The adjacent buildings on West Street contained warehouses and other facilities dedicated toward the railroad and steamship industries. Furthermore, the future site of the West Street Building was directly across West Street from ferry piers and docks, which in turn led to major ferry and rail terminals on the other side of the Hudson River. Carroll hired Gilbert to create a design in April 1905. Gunvald Aus and Burt Harrison were commissioned as the structural engineers while John Peirce was retained as the general contractor. The same year, the West Street Improvement