As other e-technology companies are paying more than $50 per sf and investing in infrastructure without aid to rent in Manhattan, a growing number of companies are finding new homes in buildings that bring with them financial incentives from the city's Economic Development Corp. Webvan has found that approximately $11 million in city and state sales tax abatements and reductions in property taxes, as well as additional tax credits for every local resident hired and help from the EDC's job data bank in its hiring, made the Hunts Point section of the Bronx irresistible.

Webvan has signed a lease for a 10-acre, one-story building totaling 400,000 sf of space. The company will begin by hiring 500 employees with plans to expand to 900, many of the jobs paying $30,000 or more a year. The building, located at 331 Tiffany St., has been vacant for years. The property will function as a distribution center for goods ordered online as it did for Alexander's retail stores.

Janel Patterson of the EDC tells GlobeSt.com, "The EDC is the city's primary agency for getting the city's commercial real estate back on track by selling or leasing it. We issue RFPs and ask developers to tell us how much and how many jobs will be created. We also manage city-owned in-place industrial parks, etc. If there is space available we issue an RFP."