Much was made during the meeting about what else is needed to revive Downtown, a task that, according to Insignia vice chairman John F. Powers, presents "Herculean" financial challenges. That list of needs further developed what other forecasters have said and mirrored in many respects the list presented two weeks

But Powers put his own spin on this list of needs and brought the discussion to another level when he revealed a proposed layout for the former WTC acreage that embraces memorial space and development areas. In the layout, a memorial would stand in the footprint of the twin towers, with new development carved out on eight separate blocks formed by the new grid, essentially surrounding the memorial site.

Such an approach is key to Downtown on many levels, Giuliani commented. It is necessary to create the "right combination of memorial and development," he said. "One hundred years from now people will visit that site, and we will be judged on how we handle that balance."

Well before that day, however, major hurdles have to be addressed in Lower Manhattan, not the least of which is an availability rate that Powers predicted will "top 16%," rising from its already steep 13.4%. Pricing, he added, will drop to below 40% of what it is in Midtown.

He also indicated "stiff competition from New Jersey," and the need to upgrade "the oldest building stock in the United States."

To work that part of the plan, Powers foreshadowed Giuliani's comments, calling for "incentives to convert older buildings."