"We'll be in retail by the end of the year," he revealed, and in a post-presentation interview, he added that he will grow the unit much as he did with his recent hire of investment sales specialists from Cushman & Wakefield: "We want to find people who can see the opportunity in the market and at JLL." Noting in his speech that when he came to the operation, it was a $12-million-a-year shop, he also stated that today JLL-NY has grown to $135 million annually and he's targeting $200 million by 2014.

On market conditions throughout Manhattan in the post-recession era, Riguardi stated that he's starting to see $100 rents start to dot the landscape once again and that the bulk of the challenge really resides in the Downtown subsector. "But the completion of the World Trade Center memorial and the train station will create a whole new vision downtown," he stated.

He finds hope as well even in the much-battered banking industry and indicated that at last some banks might be ready to come out from their shells. Riguardi noted that many banking institutions "learned their lessons. They're sitting on space, having driven down their per-square-foot-per-person. Now they're starting to talk about increasing headcounts. All the signs look good. "

But not quite 2007-good. When asked by an audience member what rents will look like in the mid-term, he said the next upcycle will eclipse the last—at least up until 2005. "Not 2007, however," Riguardi said. We've got more supply than demand, and that has to be worked out first. "