Twelve architectural firms ultimately entered the competition, while Cass Gilbert withdrew. The jury selected McKim, Mead & White's proposal as the winning entry in April 1908. The firm's design had been chosen because it provided the most space for the city government, even though it was less elaborate than some of the other submissions, such as the runner-up proposal by Howells & Stokes, inspired by 90 West Street. McKim, Mead & White had entered the contest under the encouragement of mayor George B. McClellan Jr., and William Mitchell Kendall was the principal architect named in the submission. The firm submitted plans for a building to the New York City Department of Buildings in October 1908. The city had initially intended to erect the Manhattan Municipal Building on a plot immediately to the south of the current site, bounded by Park Row, the Brooklyn Bridge, and North William Street. The accepted plan, however, called for the building to be located between Park Row, Centre Street, and Duane Street, with Chambers Street running under the Municipal Building's center.