Added Berkey, “There are few places in Manhattan where people wouldn't want to work and live but in Downtown, you have light; there's a cool factor. People want to be here, they want to work late,”—unlike the Downtown of the past that essentially shut down at 5 pm—“they want amenities for that and all of that's here now. Then you add amenities on top of that and it's quite an opportunity.”

When Droga5 announced it was moving to Lower Manhattan from Nolita, it was a tough sell to employees, said Essex. But once they saw the saw the space and the area, they were on board. “When we said we'll be in the Wall Street area, there wasn't universal applause. But once we showed employees the space, people were euphoric.

The space is helping Droga close the deal with prospective employees, he noted. “We show them the space and we share the Instagram pictures from our staff's ferry rides to work so they see the positives.”

WeWork staff, and customers, also took a while to get behind the idea of the company heading to Lower Manhattan but eventually came around, said McKelvey. “We're creators and previously, there wasn't a concentration of that down here. We were concerned whether people could [get on board with] 222 Broadway and they didn't even know where it was when we first moved. But that's changed and, even though we've outgrown our headquarters, no one wants to leave. And it's convenient for almost everyone.”

The massive amount of transportation available Downtown, and access points coming, are a big selling point, noted Wright. “With the opening of the Fulton and Calatrava transit hubs, we're about to go through several years of ribbon cuttings. I hope that changes people's views of transit. The generation coming in expects a lot of transit and they're going to get it. That raises the bar.”

Amid challenges from the audience to the panelists' rosy outlook though, speakers admitted Downtown has a ways to go in the retail and restaurant departments. “We need a bit more fertilizer for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Esses, continuing the garden anaology. I think incentives to bring in hip retailers and restaurateurs are needed.

“If a CVS opens in our building, we're going to set ourselves on fire,” he stated, adding when the audience laughed, “I'm not kidding.”

Underscoring the point, McKelvey said, “We need more diversity of product and more authentic places, not just for brokers to fill slots. Otherwise, people are going to start seeing the area as lame and it won't be as nice as it is now, while it's raw.”

Admitted Berkey, “The Lower Manhattan revamp has been primarily focused on the Northwest corner. But the wave that's hit there can't help but move over the entire area.” And it will, noted Foster. “There's a million square feet of retail opening Downtown over the next year.”