Lower Manhattan Real Estate Overview, Q2 2026

The Alliance for Downtown New York’s quarterly report provides data on commercial office, retail, residential, hospitality and development projects from Q2 2026. Major findings include:  

Downtown Leasing Activity Increases to 1.14M Sq. Ft.  

Leasing activity rose to 1.14M sq. ft. in the second quarter of 2026, marking a substantial year-over-year and quarterly uptick. This total was driven by several longtime Lower Manhattan tenants inking substantial leases, including Cleary Gottleib’s 476,000 sq. ft. lease at 1 Liberty Plaza.

Class A Asking Rents Continue to Grow While Vacancy Is Stable 

Class A asking rent increased for the third consecutive quarter to $63.60, the highest Class A asking rent since Q2 2021. Class A asking rents increased 5.1% year over year and 3% compared to last quarter while overall asking rents remained unchanged from Q1. Vacancy rates remained stable from last quarter.

Pedestrian Counts and Hotel ADRs Increase While Hotel Occupancy Declines From 2025

Lower Manhattan welcomed millions of visitors in June and July celebrating the FIFA World Cup, America250 and the New York Knicks ticker-tape parade. These events boosted weekday pedestrian traffic by 15%. Hotel ADR hit a record for the second quarter while occupancy declined 1% from 2025.   

Downtown Alliance’s New RE:Store Program Welcomes Seven New Pop-Up Retailers to Lower Manhattan 

The Downtown Alliance launched an innovative retail activation program called RE:Store this spring, welcoming seven unique new retail pop-up concepts to Lower Manhattan. The businesses are activating vacant storefronts around the neighborhood through Labor Day weekend.

Read the report below, or download a PDF.