The rejuvenation of the South Street Seaport, which has limped along since the September 11 terrorist attacks, is under way with the construction of apartments and a retail hub on Front Street. The project’s January opening will coincide with the relocation of the malodorous Fulton Fish Market to Hunts Point, and when combined with a revamped South Street Seaport Museum and the entrance of a new leaseholder for the mall at Pier 17, it could mean a new beginning for the beleaguered neighborhood, industry experts say.

The focus of the 33,000-square-foot development, which runs nearly the entire block between Beekman Street and Peck Slip in what is considered Seaport North, is to serve the many condominium conversions scattered throughout the financial district.

“The heart and soul of this project is to create a vibrant residential community downtown, with an identity similar to TriBeCa or Williamsburg,” said Frank Sciame, head of Sciame Developers, which is partnering with the Durst Organization and Zuberry Associates on the project.

The Front Street development is in the Seaport’s historic district. The plan is to combine 11 abandoned buildings built 300 years ago with three new developments to create 96 rental units and 13 units of ground-floor retail space. It was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“The key word is authentic; we want the block to fit in with the landscape and we are not trying to pretend that the new buildings are old,” Mr. Sciame said. The retail spaces are being targeted for restaurants, clothing boutiques, and other small-scale stores, and the developers hope the rentals will be popular with young couples and families.

In 2002, the Economic Development Corporation sold the Front Street property to the developers and awarded them $46 million in Liberty Bonds. As a condition of the Liberty Bond program, apartments are required to be rentals, and the Front Street development will be one of the few new rental buildings in the area.

Several office buildings in the financial district have been converted into condominiums – most famously the Philippe Starck-designed building at 15 Broad St.

The project cost “about the amount of the Liberty Bonds,” Mr. Sciame said, adding that the developers will cover any runover costs. The developers plan to start marketing the residential units next month. The majority of the apartments are one- and two-bedroom units, with the single-bedroom apartments ranging in price from $1,900 a month to $3,000 for units with outdoor space and views of the water.

The two-bedroom apartments will range from $3,300 a month to $6,000 a month. There will also be a handful of studios and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 600 square feet to 1,400 square feet. Five of the 96 rentals are “affordable,” as required by the Liberty Bond program.

The retail spaces are now being marketed for leasing, although the developers have yet to secure any tenants. Retail broker Faith Hope Consolo of Garrick-Aug estimates rents in the new project will be between $75 to $100 a square foot.

Beyond the Front Street project, Mr. Sciame has even more plans for the South Street area. He has hired famed architect Santiago Calatrava to design an 835-foot luxury residential tower at 80 South St., just outside the historic district.

One bleak spot in the neighborhood has been the shopping area called Pier 17. It has long suffered from a dearth of visitors and weak interest from retailers and is about to be taken over by a new leaseholder, General Growth Partners. The Economic Development Corporation owns the property and had been in a long-term lease with the Rouse Company.

Neither the city nor General Growth Partners would comment on possible changes to the shopping area, citing ongoing negotiations.

“Change breeds change, and with the Front Street property and other transformations downtown, it will help transform Pier 17 and breathe new kinds of life into the historic Seaport,” Mr. Sciame said.