Later this month, BMW will open the first auto dealership in Lower Manhattan, at 67 Wall St. Last month, another major specialty retailer, Daffy’s, became the latest to open an outlet in Lower Manhattan. Next year, residents will welcome a Whole Foods Market in Edward J. Minskoff Equities’ 1 million-square-foot rental apartment building at 270 Greenwich St. in TriBeCa. Construction is progressing on an 83-room boutique hotel on Greenwich and North Moore streets owned by Robert De Niro, Richard Borne, and Ira Drukier. It is being financed with $38 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds. Restaurants and clubs, including Cipriani at 55 Wall St., and rental and sales offices for condominiums and apartments are opening every week. Even though plans for the site of the former World Trade Center are stalled, one thing is certain – Lower Manhattan is rising.

I still remember when the New York Post wrote in December 2001 that people were fleeing Lower Manhattan faster than the Titanic. Immediately after the attacks, five subway lines and 12 stations were closed or damaged. A report released by the Pratt Institute said that within three months of the attacks, occupancy rates in Battery Park City dropped 61%. Property values plunged and rental prices fell, by 30% in Battery Park City and by 16% to 21% in the Financial District as a whole.

No one wanted to visit or live in Lower Manhattan. To stabilize the neighborhood, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation initiated a grant program for residential renters. Renters in zone one, south of Chambers and west of Nassau and Broad, including Battery Park City, with at least two-year leases commencing before April 1, 2003, and ending after May 30, 2005, were eligible for a grant of $500 a month, or $12,000 for those who signed a two-year lease. The grant program expires May 31.

Many observers doubted whether tenants would stay without the financial incentives. However, the principal of the Moinian Group, Joseph Moinian, one of the largest residential landlords in Lower Manhattan, said last week, “Very few of our tenants failed to renew their leases even though they are no longer receiving the grants. Lower Manhattan continues to be less expensive for an apartment than Midtown.”

The head of Boymelgreen Developers, Shaya Boymelgreen, is confident people want to live in Lower Manhattan. He is converting JP Morgan’s former headquarters, a 42-story tower at 15 Broad St., and an adjacent five-story building into condominiums selling for almost $1,000 a square foot. “This is the time and opportunity for individuals to purchase in Lower Manhattan,” said Mr. Boymelgreen.

Last month, Mr. Boymelgreen agreed to buy 14 Wall St., at the corner of Broadway. He plans to continue to operate the former headquarters of Bankers Trust as an office building. “Perhaps in a couple of years, I will convert a portion of the top of the tower into residential,” said Mr. Boymelgreen.

The chairman of the Witkoff Group, Steven Witkoff, said, “Lower Manhattan provides the young professional the opportunity to purchase an apartment at the most affordable price in Manhattan.” A few weeks ago, he announced that his organization will convert part of the upper floors at the landmark Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway into residential condominiums. The Witkoff Group plans to complete the conversion of 10 Hanover Square, the former Goldman Sachs building, into rental apartments later this year. Next month, Mr. Boymelgreen plans to renovate JP Morgan’s 20 Pine St., which he bought this winter. “I plan to offer first-time purchasers the opportunity to own small units ranging in size from 350 to 700 square feet, providing home ownership for as low as $350,000,” Mr. Boymelgreen said.

In September, the first residential tenants moved into the Crest at 63 Wall St., the former headquarters of Brown Brothers Harriman. The 36-story building, now home to 476 rental units, was developed by an entity controlled by Nathan Berman and Yaron Bruckner. They received $132.5 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds from the New York City Housing Development Corporation. Sources say the owner of the Crest has retained a prominent sales company to sell the tower. This would be the first property financed with Liberty Bonds put on sale.

Mr. Moinian said that in 1994, he was able to buy office buildings for $5 a square foot and convert them into rental apartments. In addition to low prices, the city gave landlords up to 14 years of tax breaks for converting commercial buildings to multiple dwellings in Lower Manhattan. In 1994, developer Crescent Heights purchased 25 Broad St., a landmarked building built in 1898,and converted it into 345 rental apartments. Last month, Crescent Heights announced plans to sell it. It could fetch close to $280,000, or $750,000 a unit. In September, Equity Residential paid $100 million for the landmarked 238-unit residential apartments at 71 Broadway.

A number of residential rental and condominium projects are under way in the area, including Rockrose’s tower at 2 Gold St., Garden Homes’ conversion of 37 Wall St.; Boymelgreen’s new tower at 88 Leonard St., the Moinian Group’s conversion of the former Downtown Athletic Club, Glenwood Management’s second residential tower at 10-12 Barclay St., and the conversion of 100 Maiden Lane. In Battery Park City, projects are under way by the Related Companies, Millennium Partners, the Sheldrake Organization, Jack Resnick & Sons, Minskoff Equities, and the Albanese Organization.

This fall, Hersha Hospitality will open Hampton Inn – the Seaport, at 320 Pearl St. Other hotels are planned for Lower Manhattan. Sources say one of Lower Manhattan’s largest landlords is planning a mixed project that will include a W Hotel and a residential condominium a few blocks from ground zero.

The delay in construction at ground zero has had no effect on the residential market in Lower Manhattan. Developers are active in the development of rentals and condominiums in the third largest business district in the country. Retail is still lagging, and the South Street Seaport shopping mall requires a complete overhaul. Nevertheless, there is little question that within 24 months, it will be a true 24/7 community.

Mr. Stoler is a television broadcaster and vice president of First American Title Insurance Company of New York. E-mail comments to mstoler@firstam.com.