Indeed, Doctoroff told the nearly full ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel that this was the "only chance we have" to make Lower Manhattan a true 24/7 community. Given that, while the city and its project partners--including the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.--are committed to "working quickly," he said, "we realize that we are making decisions that will affect the city for the next 100 years."
As much as new buildings, key to the Downtown vibrancy will be transportation. In his comments, Mosler called for the creation of a "regional mass-transportation hub." Doctoroff agreed, noting, "the lack of adequate transportation has strangled the growth of Downtown." Both envisioned direct rail ties to Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester and Staten Island with intermodal links to ease commutation.
The deputy mayor also stated that the re-creation of the "pre-World Trade Center street grid" as well as "more housing" to support the community feel of Downtown will be vital to the future of the submarket.
Even with a "down payment" on President Bush's $20 billion in rebuilding funds in hand, Doctoroff said that creative financial solutions will be called for and that further reliance on "our friends in Washington, DC" will be necessary. He did not specify what form those financial solutions could take.
Finances and building strategies are only a part of Lower Manhattan's problem, however. While Midtown and Downtown share in the economic slump, the events of the past few months "put Downtown in a more tenuous situation," reported C&W senior managing director Maria T. Sicola. While Midtown vacancies will stabilize this year at about 9%, Downtown vacancies will have to hit 15% before stabilizing. That is not likely to happen until 2003. Furthermore, while Midtown rents will start to climb in 2004, it won't be until a year later that we can expect rents to rise Downtown.
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John Salustri
John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
