Young singles make up 60 percent of lower Manhattan, but they’re spending their cash elsewhere

A report released Monday by the Downtown Alliance shows that the area south of Chambers Street in lower Manhattan is chock full of young New Yorkers with plenty of disposable income; the development advocacy group hopes the news will result in the creation of more options for them to spend it. Crains reports on the survey, which found that 60 percent of apartments in a growing residential sector that includes the Financial District, Battery Park City and the South Street Seaport are home to single tenants and roommates with no children, one of the highest concentrations of young singles–defined as 18- to 44-year-olds, in the city. This spendy demo hits the town every other night on average, blowing about $1,000 a month, adding up to $356 million a year. But according to the report, half of that is spent in other neighborhoods due to a lack of “appealing options” in the area.

Though lower Manhattan is still about three-quarters commercial, the number of apartments increased more than twofold since 2000. Average asking rents are almost 25 percent lower than the rest of Manhattan (they were 16 percent lower before 9/11, so that isn’t the culprit). The report underscores the long-running efforts by the alliance to make the area, which lags behind other business hubs, into more of 24/7 neighborhood.

High average rents on area retail leases compared to commercial space could be a windfall for landlords. The alliance hopes neighborhood property owners will allot more space for bars, dining establishments and entertainment venues and keep the spending in the neighborhood: “This key demographic can increasingly drive Lower Manhattan’s rapidly transforming retail and dining scene.”

[Via Crains]

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