"While Wall Street has long been the world's best-known and most-coveted business address, Lower Manhattan offers the full package of commercial, residential and visitor amenities and attractions, all within walking distance. Our one square mile contains a workforce of 300,000 in 88 million square feet of office space, more than 1,000 restaurants and retailers, 55,000 residents in 319 buildings, close to six million annual tourists, and 3,700 hotel rooms in 17 hotels - almost three times as many that existed in 2001," according to an article by Liz Berger, president of President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, in today's edition of the Downtown Express.
"And more is on the way: 1 World Trade Center is at 40 stories and rising and 4 World Trade Center is at seven stories with 57 to go. The long-awaited Fulton Street Transit Center is on schedule to open in 2014 with new stores and Grimshaw Architects' iconic oculus. The Dey Street passageway will provide quick and convenient access between the transit center and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and also scheduled to open in 2014," the article continued.
"Two spectacular new parks," Ms. Berger wrote, "will also open this year: the first stage of the East River Waterfront Esplanade from Wall Street to Maiden Lane, and the reconstruction of Piers 25 and 26 at Hudson River Park. And, the transformation of Battery Park continues, with new landscaping, the Nieuw Amsterdam Plein information kiosk and cafÂż, the SeaGlass carousel and a playground designed by Frank Gehry. For the first time, a bikeway will connect all three parks in a loop around Lower Manhattan."
She noted that "Forty-one percent of Lower Manhattan residents walk to work, and the rest have a commute that's almost half the city average. No wonder Lower Manhattan is one of New York City's fastest-growing residential communities. New elementary and secondary schools, new parks, green construction and a neighborhood rich in cultural attractions, farmers markets and year-round waterfront activities help explain why 88 percent of local residents say they expect to live here for at least another three years."
"And more is on the way: 1 World Trade Center is at 40 stories and rising and 4 World Trade Center is at seven stories with 57 to go. The long-awaited Fulton Street Transit Center is on schedule to open in 2014 with new stores and Grimshaw Architects' iconic oculus. The Dey Street passageway will provide quick and convenient access between the transit center and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and also scheduled to open in 2014," the article continued.
"Two spectacular new parks," Ms. Berger wrote, "will also open this year: the first stage of the East River Waterfront Esplanade from Wall Street to Maiden Lane, and the reconstruction of Piers 25 and 26 at Hudson River Park. And, the transformation of Battery Park continues, with new landscaping, the Nieuw Amsterdam Plein information kiosk and cafÂż, the SeaGlass carousel and a playground designed by Frank Gehry. For the first time, a bikeway will connect all three parks in a loop around Lower Manhattan."
She noted that "Forty-one percent of Lower Manhattan residents walk to work, and the rest have a commute that's almost half the city average. No wonder Lower Manhattan is one of New York City's fastest-growing residential communities. New elementary and secondary schools, new parks, green construction and a neighborhood rich in cultural attractions, farmers markets and year-round waterfront activities help explain why 88 percent of local residents say they expect to live here for at least another three years."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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