While most people know FiDi, the acronym for Manhattan’s Financial District, as the home to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, they may not know that the area is going through a huge transformation. With restaurants, nightlife, and super luxury retail all flocking to the area, FiDi is now a lively 24/7 community and the fastest growing residential area in New York City.
First, some basics: FiDi’s borders are Fulton Street to the north, Broadway to the west, and the East River to the south and east. It has some of the city’s best transportation options (14 Subway lines, a PATH station, numerous express bus lines and ferry route, and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport) and easy access from the FDR via Broad Street. Furthermore, this already impressive transportation infrastructure is receiving a multi-billion dollar redevelopment, with several massive transportation projects under construction, including the new PATH Station designed by world renowned architect Santiago Calatrava; the new Fulton Street Transit Hub; and two new ferry transportation hubs.
Anchored by the New York Stock Exchange, FiDi is also home to the headquarters of several industry leaders, including: JPMorgan Chase, the Bank of New York, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Deutsche Bank, Standard & Poor’s, Prudential Securities, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., and HIP. In the past several years, many non-profits, architecture firms, law firms and health care organizations have moved to FiDi, attesting to the strength of Downtown’s commercial market and bringing greater diversity to the business community. Since January 2005, 184 firms have relocated to Downtown from Midtown and other parts of the metropolitan area.
The burgeoning Downtown residential population, an expanding base of the highest-paid employees in America, and an increase in tourism to 8.1 million tourists annually (which ranks FiDi as second only to Times Square) have generated a surge in retail demand. As a result, a growing number of restaurants, high-end retailers and service businesses are opening locations in FiDi. Centralized around Broad and Wall Streets, the “Madison Avenue” of Downtown Manhattan, FiDi has enjoyed recent openings and major new lease commitments by Tiffany & Company, Hermes, Canali, Tumi, BMW, and Thomas Pink. Coupled with the opening of Gristede’s Supermarket at 90 Maiden Lane (and the 40,000 square-foot Whole Foods on Greenwich Street), restaurants like Bobby Van’s, Cipriani, Haru and outdoor cafes along Historic Stone Street the number of dining, grocery shopping and nightlife options for FiDi workers, visitors and residents are rapidly expanding. And, as residential and office populations continue to expand and construction further progresses at the World Trade Center, additional retailers and restaurateurs are expected to open businesses to capitalize on FiDi’s further growth.