The history of New York City is interwoven with the growth and development of Lower Manhattan. Most recently, $30 billion in infrastructure investment has attracted a new type of merchant that harnesses intellectual capital and creative ingenuity, and has brought thousands of new residents and businesses to Lower Manhattan.

Our new Take the HELM competition rewards and promotes new Lower Manhattan tenants that can bring the best and brightest employees to the neighborhood, with the potential to add more in the near future; continue the re-branding of Lower Manhattan as a hub of innovative businesses poised for growth; and diversify the economic base of this 85-million square foot central business district, complementing the financial sector.

To encourage business growth in Lower Manhattan, Take the HELM is looking to award four $250,000 cash grants to the following types of companies:

• Creative: If you’re a creative company, Take the HELM wants to reward you for joining Condé Nast, SHoP Architects, The Paris Review, and XO Group in Lower Manhattan. 
• Tech: If you’re a technology company, Take the HELM wants to welcome you to a neighborhood that has nearly doubled its tech presence in the last five years.
• New New Yorkers: If you’re a company from outside New York City, Take the HELM will help you establish roots in Lower Manhattan and continue the neighborhood’s appeal to the world’s best and brightest.
• Startups: If you’re a startup less than three years old, Take the HELM will help you build an office and connect you with the neighborhood’s burgeoning startup community.  

Take the HELM will select up to 20 finalists that best meet the goals of the competition and seek to open an office in Lower Manhattan. Finalists will each receive a $10,000 cash grant and an opportunity to interview with the distinguished Selection Committee, and will participate in two days of exclusive business development programs in Lower Manhattan. Up to four Take the HELM winners will receive an additional $250,000. At least one $250,000 prize will be reserved for startup applicants.

The Competition is designed for companies that plan to open a new office or expand an existing office in Lower Manhattan on or south of Chambers Street; enter into a new lease, sublease, or license agreement for that office space; and propose to bring fewer than 75 employees to Lower Manhattan through their initial relocation or expansion. Winners will be required to enter into a new lease, sublease, or license agreement for their new Lower Manhattan office space within 12 months of the competition’s opening date.  

Interested? Find out more at www.taketheHELMnyc.com. Applications are due November 30, 2012.