Hermes, the brand name that adorns the silk neckties and handbags of New York’s biggest spenders, may soon lease space in Lower Manhattan.

A managing director for the real estate firm Newmark Knight Frank, Howard Kesseler, told The New York Sun that a deal is being discussed with Hermes for ground-floor space in developer A.I. & Boymelgreen’s condominium conversion project at 15 Broad St. and 23 Wall St., in JPMorgan’s former headquarters, a city landmark.

That a high-end luxury retailer is looking for space in the financial district, just across the street from the New York Stock Exchange, is another positive sign of growth for Lower Manhattan. Hermes’s national flagship store, and its only outlet in New York, is uptown on 62nd Street at Madison Avenue.

The president of Hermes, Robert Chavez, would not confirm a deal in an e-mail exchange with the Sun.

Should the deal proceed, Hermes would likely cater to Wall Street financiers and future owners of the thousands of luxury condos sprouting up in the area.

Online, the Paris-based retailer is selling beach blankets for $940, cashmere shawls for $850, and ashtrays for $450. The signature Hermes neckties cost $145.

A real estate broker specializing in retail, Faith Consolo of Prudential Douglas Elliman, said that before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, luxury retailers were looking at the downtown market. She said the possibility of an Hermes deal and rumors of interest in the area by other retailers is evidence of a rebound.

“Luxury is waiting on downtown. They have been looking to locate in that market for a very long time,” Ms. Consolo said. “With Hermes, you are not just talking luxury, you are talking exceptional.”

The CEO of Core Marketing Group, Shaun Osher, said Hermes may be missing its market in the financial district.

“Hermes would be taking a gamble that there is enough of their client base to support their retail store in that kind of a property,” Mr. Osher said. “I don’t think the financial district, especially that part of it, is a high fashion destination. This would definitely be pioneering for this kind of store in that location.”

The presence of Hermes at 15 Broad St. would add another elite brand name to the residential development. The developer, Shaya Boymelgreen, recruited the French designer Philippe Starck to remake the interior of the 42-story tower, erected in 1914, into 382 luxury condo units.

The residences at 15 Broad St. will also contain a 7,300-square-foot terrace called Starck Park, a bowling alley, a squash court, half a basketball court, an indoor lap pool, and special exercise rooms outfitted for yoga and ballet. Since August 2004, all but 41 units have been sold, and residents will begin to move in this March. Prices have ranged from about $500,000 for a studio to more than $3 million for a three-bedroom with a terrace.

Should Hermes sign on, it would be a victory for the Brooklyn-based Mr. Boymelgreen, who is betting heavily on Lower Manhattan.

Steps away, at 20 Pine St., Mr. Boymelgreen is overseeing another massive condo conversion project. The former offices of Chase Manhattan Bank will contain 409 units with interiors designed partly by Giorgio Armani. Sales will start next week on the condos, which are priced between $600,000 and $4 million.

Just north in TriBeCa, Mr. Boymelgreen is finishing construction on a 21-story aluminum and glass rental tower with 352 units on Leonard Street. The developer is building the tower with the help of $125 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds.

Some real estate analysts said Hermes would probably be given considerable financial incentives to take on a new space in downtown over the traditional shopping meccas of SoHo, Fifth Avenue, and Madison Avenue. They said the potential Hermes deal is part of a larger trend of developers marketing themselves by attaching superamenities and top-of-the-line retail and restaurant tenants to their projects.

Just down the street from Mr. Boymelgreen’s 15 Broad St., developer Steven Witkoff partnered with the Italian restaurateur Giuseppe Cipriani to add a private club to 106 converted condos.

The analysts said developers hope the add-ons will provide extra ammunition to compete against the thousands of other luxury condos sprouting up across the city. But Mr. Osher is not so sure such a marketing strategy will work in the city.

“I think New Yorkers are a little more sophisticated than we are giving them credit for,” he said.