"Happy Days are here again," said Jerry Speyer, president and CEO of Tishman Speyer Properties. "We're in an improving business climate."
Lazard & Co. chairman Bruce Wasserstein noted the need for the city to institute a strategic plan that would place emphasis on attracting businesses such as the medical industry to Manhattan. "New York creates new industries. We need to have a multi-lateral attack on focus."
And Rubenstein Associates president Howard Rubenstein noted the changes in the city's residential side, commenting that there "isn't a bad neighborhood in Manhattan." He also said that having the Republican Convention here was positive because it put the city "on the worldwide stage." Other members of the panel were Steve Roth of Vornado Realty Trust and Pamela Liebman of the Corcoran Group.
The jam-packed event included sessions on topics such as investment sales, capital markets, condo conversions and REITs. In a forum on the Downtown market, Lower Manhattan Development Corp. president Kevin Rampe said we're now coming to the "end stages of comprehensive planning" toward the revitalization of the area. He said the most crucial aspects of the plan are the various transportation improvements including the upgrade of the Fulton Street subway station.
When it comes to leasing, Dennis Friedrich, president and COO-US Operations for Brookfield Properties, noted that his company expects large blocks of space at 3 World Financial to be gobbled up soon. That kind of activity is something he expects to see more of, noting that the differentials between Downtown and Midtown rents is as much as $30 per sf, $40 if you count concessions. "We're going to see a bit more here and there which will result in a quicker ramp up than people anticipated."
With a variety of apartment conversions coming to the market, there is a growing need for retail in Lower Manhattan. However, Friedrich calls it the "sector that is the most unclear. It's a very reluctant market right now. Everyone's waiting to see what happens with the World Trade Center."
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