An Urban Success Story A Generation In The Making

On November 3rd of last year, when One World Trade Center opened and Condé Nast’s employees began filing into the gleaming, state of the art tower, media reports referenced a “beginning” for Lower Manhattan. They spoke glowingly of a “moment”, a fresh start and the kickoff of a new era.

That “moment” was actually an achievement 20 years in the making—an achievement predicated on a risky planning strategy, a commitment to transportation infrastructure and determination of a community of property owners to embody Lower Manhattan’s long tradition of resilience.

Twenty years ago, Lower Manhattan’s outlook was bleak.

Office vacancies were at a post-World War II high, and the neighborhood was a veritable ghost town on nights and weekends. Company after company wanted out. Nearly one in four commercial floors in downtown’s office towers stood forlornly vacant. The New York Times noted in 1994: “Wall Street, No Longer Financial Capital, Struggles to Cling to Cachet.” The Daily News in early 1995 lamented a “Troubled Downtown” and spoke of the need for a “rescue plan.”

How times have changed. Today, Lower Manhattan is one of New York’s hottest neighborhoods. The residential population has grown from 14,000 in 1995 to roughly 60,000 today. A flurry of big name companies—not only media titans like Condé Nast and Time Inc., but also consumer brand name firms like Revlon and Hugo Boss—are moving into new downtown headquarters. While finance remains a pillar of Lower Manhattan’s business mix, there's also a tech and creative cluster that is thriving to the surprise of many.

Tourism is booming too, and hotel construction is racing to keep pace. By the end of 2015, Lower Manhattan will have 31 hotels, compared to just six in 1995. And a retail revolution is remaking the streets: New stores and restaurants are sprouting up seemingly everywhere, as more than 2 million square feet of new or repositioned retail space will be open or in development by the end of 2016.

The renaissance of New York’s oldest neighborhood has occurred despite major setbacks, including the terrorist attacks of September 11th, a crippling recession in 2008, the wrath of Hurricane Sandy and the decentralization of the financial services industry.

So what happened? How did Downtown’s fortunes turn around so dramatically?

One reason was the Alliance for Downtown New York’s strategy to shake up the area's make-up. When our vision for a revitalized Lower Manhattan was taking shape in the early 1990s, our stakeholders eschewed the traditional definition of a central business district—one where residential and commercial elements were kept separate. They agreed that the neighborhood could no longer be just about Wall Street. In order to thrive, Lower Manhattan needed a robust mix of residents and businesses. It needed advertising, media, fashion and tech companies alongside the financial firms. And it needed more schools and nonprofits as well.

The Alliance was founded, in part, to help bring this vision to life. One of the first things we did after opening our doors in 1995 (in addition to cleaning up streets and installing lights) was to help craft and lobby for a package of incentives that encouraged the conversion of aging commercial stock into residential use. Since then, a total of 15.8 million square feet of office space has been reincarnated as apartments, condos and hotels. The surge in new residents has been accompanied by numerous streetscape improvements and an increase in open space, with nearly 40 acres of parkland created since 1995. Baby carriages and dog walkers now fill the streets.

Wall Street was once where you made a living. Now, you can make a life there too. The evolution has benefited companies and residents alike (41 percent of employed residents actually work here).

Lower Manhattan’s resurgence was also aided by something even more essential: access. Located at the center of a regional and growing multi-modal transportation network, the neighborhood has 12 subway lines, 30 bus routes, two PATH routes, six ferry terminals, seven Downtown Connection buses and 25 Citi Bike stations. This comprehensive public transportation system became increasing pivotal in the last decade, as the number of professionals living within a 30-minute commute of Lower Manhattan grew substantially—from 66,000 in 2000 to 557,000 in 2010. As getting to and from Lower Manhattan has become easier (especially with the recent opening of the MTA’s Fulton Center), the neighborhood’s appeal to employers and employees has grown exponentially.

Intrinsically tied to the identity and future of this important neighborhood is one particular location: the World Trade Center. These 16 acres are hallowed ground, of course. They are also a cornerstone of the neighborhood’s revitalization. The visible progress at the site has spawned positive momentum and contributed to a huge wave of demand for office space in the area. The National September 11 Memorial Museum, which began operating last fall, has already welcomed more than one million visitors. For many, the opening of One World Trade Center in September officially signaled the comeback of Lower Manhattan.

There is one other quality that has indisputably contributed to the vibrancy of downtown: toughness. From the American Revolution to the Great Fires of 1835 and 1845, to the attacks of September 11, the recession of 2008 and Sandy’s flood waters, no other New York City neighborhood has been knocked down so many times. But each and every time, we got back up. Our determined success is also New York’s and the nation’s. If policy makers are looking for models of urban rejuvenation, the lessons of Lower Manhattan are worthy of a lasting look.

Jessica Lappin is president of the Alliance for Downtown New York and a former member of the New York City Council.