Ever since Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch in the woeful days of September 2008, the New York real estate world has remained riveted by speculation: Would it entirely abandon the Merrill space at Brookfield's World Financial Center, consolidating all of its offices at the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, thus leaving a gaping vacuum at the center of downtown's office market?
The real estate folks at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch are...