Markets 
Downtown Manhattan had a remarkable transformation from a financial services center into a vibrant “24-hour” residential hotspot in the 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an eye-opening new report found.
The Lower Manhattan population around the reborn Ground Zero more than doubled to 70,761 residents in 2024 from 32,446 in 2001, according to the analysis issued Wednesday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Residential building space in the area that includes Wall Street and Tribeca increased during the rebuild by a staggering 30.8 million square feet, the report said.
“Twenty-five years ago, it was impossible to imagine the neighborhoods around Ground Zero looking like they do today,” DiNapoli said.
“Lower Manhattan rose from those ashes with an enormous amount of effort and investment. Today, the growing population, the mix of retail, business and government offices, as well as hotels, restaurants and cultural destinations, speak to New York’s and America’s tenacity in the wake of one of the darkest days in our history.”
In 2002, more than 40% of the existing residences in the Financial District were in Battery Park City complex.
But Battery Park City now makes up just 24% of the residential stock with 8,260 homes in 30 residential buildings, due to new housing construction and conversions elsewhere downtown.
Between 2010 and 2026, 64% of new housing units in the Financial District and 48% in Tribeca were added through building expansions or alterations rather than new construction, the report said.
The dramatic conversion to a more diverse, residential downtown was aided by the creation of the Special Lower Manhattan District in 1998, which enabled the conversion of older commercial buildings to residential use.
Since 9/11, extensive public and private infrastructure projects also helped reshape Lower Manhattan including: the $1.4 billion Fulton Transit Center, the $4 billion World Trade Center Hub and Oculus and ferry terminal upgrades, redevelopment of the South Street Seaport and Pier 17, all which have supported population growth and tourism anchored by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the report noted.
Former three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who oversaw the decade of post-9/11 reconstruction of Ground Zero, called the overhaul “one of the great comeback stories in New York history.”
“After 9/11, many wondered whether Lower Manhattan would ever come back, but New Yorkers did what we do best – we came together and got to work,” Bloomberg said.
“At City Hall, we believed the best response was not just to rebuild, but to reimagine all of Lower Manhattan and make it more full of life than ever,” the former mayor said. “That meant helping transform what had long been a 9-to-5 business district into a 24/7 community – one built around people, with new homes, schools, parks, cultural institutions, and public spaces, which can now be seen all around downtown. That vision continues to come to life.”
He said the the 9/11 Memorial & Museum that honors those lost is “at the heart of it all”, inspiring unity in the city and America.
“Today people from around the world come downtown to live and work, to remember and reflect, to meet friends and see a show,” Bloomberg said.
“Lower Manhattan’s transformation is one of the great comeback stories in New York history – and a powerful reminder that when we come together as one city and one country, anything is possible.”
Despite the negative disruptions of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said private sector employment in lower Manhattan topped 257,000 jobs in 2024, up 6.4% from 2000.
“As New York and America reflect on 25 years since the 9/11 attacks and mourn the nearly 3,000 men, women and children killed that day, Lower Manhattan continues to evolve,” the report said. “Today it is a vibrant, growing part of the city, with new retail corridors, businesses that have shifted from finance to business services and leisure and hospitality, and a booming residential community.”
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