RealShare Downtown New York Virtual Conference beginning at 11 a.m.

"It's going to be a matter of fact, practical discussion of Downtown," conference producer Brian Klebash tells GlobeSt.com. That discussion will bring market experts together in a virtual setting, and it promises to be a spirited conversation. "You'll hear clearly contrasting viewpoints about the future of Downtown over the next 12 to 18 months."

The course of the next 12 to 18 months is anything but predictable, and the biggest question mark--and the conference's lead-off panel--focuses on whether the Obama administration's efforts to jump-start the economy will benefit Downtown. Featured speaker Christian Menegatti, managing editor and lead analyst with RGE Monitor, will analyze what the future may hold in store for Lower Manhattan, in terms of the economy's impact on Downtown's financial tenant base and the potential of new incentives and targeted resources through TARP and the stimulus program. Government intervention is a particularly meaningful topic in this submarket, because the forms that federal action could take range from relief for financial institutions to funding for some of the large-scale transit projects under construction here.

The Town Hall Meeting that follows will discuss the state of investment, development and leasing Downtown amid a challenging market. Sheldon Cohen, senior managing director with CB Richard Ellis, will moderate a Town Hall panel exploring topics such as: the steps landlords are taking to be creative and receptive to tenants, how landlords are working to attract new tenants and what the silver lining is amid the current economic malaise. He'll be joined by Karen Bellantoni, EVP of Robert K. Futterman & Associates; Daniel Blanco, principal and COO of Broad Street Development; and Ron Cohen, EVP of Cushman & Wakefield's capital markets group, with other speakers to be announced.