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August 2006 COVER STORY > return to MAI in the news Cover Story: Watch out traders, Financial District is booming - with
babies
HIGLIGHTED AGENT: STOCKBROKERS, bankers and bulls - these are what the Financial District is known for. But babies? "When I told people I was moving here, they asked, ‘Why?’ " says expectant mother Dr. Sonni Mun, who like many others, found a number of reasons to make her home among Wall Street’s skyscrapers. "The views are amazing," she says, "and it’s so quiet at night."
Dr. Mun, who recently transitioned from full-time work at Mt. Sinai Hospital to full-time motherhood, and her husband, lawyer Jeff Fourmaux, are typical Wall Street newcomers: mid-30s professionals taking advantage of Liberty Bonds and post-9/11 tax abatements to buy into one of the hundreds of new condo properties and office space conversions. In Mun’s case, the discounts made her brand-new two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,475-squarefoot apartment in Nassau Street’s revamped Croft Building a relative bargain at $1.3 million. “We’re absolutely happy here,” she says. “We could stay indefinitely.” Like Mun, it seems the area’s rookie tenants have instantly become as much a part of the local landscape as Bowling Green’s “Charging Bull” statue. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by the Downtown Alliance finds that 60 percent of the new arrivals intend to remain among its European-styled streets. Says Pierre Moran, a top agent with DJK Residential and a former local, “the area has gone from basically nothing on the residential side to becoming a vibrant place to live.” A BUILDING BOOMFew predicted such dramatic changes when local commercial occupancy nose-dived in the 1990s. As with all investing, though, a few saw prospects amid the losses. “I told my colleagues it was going to be a gold mine,” says Michael Hepinstall, a sales associate at DJK Residential. “While residential people saw an opportunity, commercial people were sitting on their hands. Loans helped developers and it trickled down from there.” Indeed, in the years since the terror attacks, aggressive building and selling has increased residency twofold. At the start of this decade, the ancient alleys east of Broadway between Park Row and the Battery housed 19,000 souls. While that sounds like an impressive number, current projections suggest that the local population will soon reach 65,000 — a boom so far unmatched in Manhattan. It’s not just the numbers that are speaking loudly. High-profile developments like the Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall St. (home to Naomi Campbell and Harvey Weinstein), 20 Pine (with interiors by Armani), Philippe Starck’s dramatic redesign of the former JP Morgan building at 15 Broad St. and the restored 90 West St. have earned the attention of New York’s elite. “A few years ago,” says Hepinstall, “it was difficult to convince individuals to go to the area. Now it’s in great demand.” And while those with extra scratch can regularly enjoy expensive eateries (Bayard’s, Haru Sushi, Bobby Van’s Steakhouse) and the gaggle of forthcoming luxury retail choices (Hermès, Tiffany & Co.), for the average resident, it doesn’t help that it’s easier to buy a string of pearls than a carton of milk. Former area resident Barrie Mandel, senior vice president of the Corcoran Group and in charge of sales for the new South Star condos on John Street, remembers the lack of staple amenities. “It wasn’t convenient for everyday necessities like groceries or drugstores. Those things were there, you just needed to discover them — you felt like you had a secret.”
Nonetheless, change abounds. For the gourmet, there’s the South Street Seaport greenmarket, Zeytuna on William Street, Bell Bates on Reade and a Whole Foods planned for TriBeCa. There’s also a spate of everyday restaurants and bars, such as Bin No. 220 on Front Street and the soon-to-open Table Tales Café on Water. (Rosemarie Minniti of Manhattan Apartments Inc. helped
Chris find his apartment) Other top-flight amenities include the Crunch Gym in Broadway’s old Cunard Building and Pasanella and Son Vintners on South Street. There’s the recently opened Claremont Preparatory School. And the multiple subway lines make getting around the city easy. “Creating a community and enhancing services is a challenge,” says Joe Lombardo, an agent at Manhattan Apartments Inc. “Many people still view the District as being offices and happy-hour bars.” As Zohra Atash, 25, found out after she moved into her Maiden Lane apartment, there’s a reason that Wall Street’s 9-to-5 reputation persists. “I spent most of the time exploring and looking for at least one 24-hour deli or diner,” she says. “I didn’t have much luck.” A FAMILY AFFAIRAtash’s luck is likely to change as more families arrive. Already, the Maclarens and Bugaboo strollers on the sidewalks are transforming this Type A hood into a family community. Just ask management consultant and Nassau Street condo owner David Cooper. “My wife, Charis, got involved with two mother’s groups nearby shortly after the birth of our son, Max, two years ago. We now have five to 10 couples with whom we are close friends and have kids his age.” He says what first attracted them to the area was “a palpable sense that things were going to change for the better.” But not everyone views the stunning renaissance on Wall Street in the same way. Politicians and private citizens alike have observed that the economic incentives created to rebuild downtown after 9/11 have assisted primarily in the construction of upper-income housing. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the median household income for the area is $87,000, or about twice the average New York City salary, so it’s not surprising that the vast majority of new listings fall into the “luxury” category. Still, according to figures from Prudential Douglas Elliman, the average rent in the Financial District for 2005 was around $2,600 a month — well below the Manhattan average of $3,191. Moreover, some future openings — including the Historic Front Street project abutting Peck Slip, and 15 William St. — contain set-asides for affordable housing. Whatever one’s opinion for this re-imagined Wall Street, the building can only continue for so long and, considering the constant 95 percent residential occupancy rate and the upcoming end of funding programs, investors — so to speak — may have little time left to buy in on the ground floor. Though still bullish on the Financial, Mandel cautions, "as the schools, parks and shopping improve, people are going to wonder why they didn’t come when prices were lower." |
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Yes, a hush does fall over the Financial District when the weekday suits depart
its narrow alleys and head back to the burbs. But the residential market
near New York’s economic heart is anything but quiet. A decade after Mayor Giuliani initiated a massive financial redevelopment scheme, Manhattan’s oldest neighborhood has evolved into its latest success.
While options have improved, today’s tenants are demanding more. A Downtown
Alliance survey indicates local retail options failed to meet the standards of
45 percent of residents. Also, 40 percent of those polled cited the lack of
retail choices as a reason to move. Measured against the fact that 70 percent do
their day-to- day shopping in the area, it suggests there’s a need for retail
diversity rather than upscale stores — something the new BMW and Hickey Freeman
shops don’t address.