One company taking advantage of those incentives is law firm McKee Nelson, which signed a long-term lease for 67,000 sf at 1 Battery Park Plaza. The firm is presently in 25,000 sf at 5 Times Square, expects to move into its larger quarters in the spring of 2005. The leasing transaction was signed before the end of the year to take advantage of two Downtown incentive programs, one of which is the Small Firm Attraction and Retention Grant, which provides grants up to $3,500 per employee to organizations with less than 200 employees and is set to expire at the end of the year.

Matthew Barlow, executive vice president, John Johnson, managing director and Nick Farmakis, assistant director of Studley represented McKee Nelson in the 15-year lease transaction. Tom Keating of Rudin Management represented the landlord.

Tighe pointed out the numerous opportunities for companies looking for large spaces, which are rare to find in Midtown. "Downtown business is strong and still expanding," said Charles Gargano, chairman and commissioner of the Empire State Development Corp. "We're recasting the skyline."

Another hot topic was the retail marketplace in Lower Manhattan. "Downtown in under-retailed," noted Tighe, adding that there is $1.4 billion of unmet demand. "Retail is important in knitting together the East and West." Whole Foods Market is actively searching for space in Lower Manhattan. A key newcomer to the Downtown scene is the 6,000-sf BMW showroom on Wall Street. "Brokers have to use imagination to create retail."