Wall Street woos residential developers. (tax incentives; building conversions)(Brief Article)

After years of eroding office market conditions, things may finally be looking up for downtown Manhattan.

What eventually emerges may look -- and feel -- quite different from the wing-tipped financial mecca of years past. With area office vacancies at a post-World War II high, state and city legislators recently approved a package of tax benefits that could make the Wall Street area the home of as many as 2,000 to 4,000 residents as well.

The incentive package encourages the residential conversion and commercial renovation of pre-1975 office properties, many of whi