By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Rents are rising again downtown, but it’s still a good time to look for a luxury doorman apartment in the Financial District, a new report found.
Landlords shouldered the broker fee and offered at least one month of free rent in about half of all high-end studios and one-bedrooms below Fulton Street last year, according to Platinum Properties, a Financial District-based brokerage.
The discounts could get even better in the next few months, as new rental units come online and many existing leases come up for renewal, said Daniel Hedaya, executive vice president of Platinum, who wrote the firm’s annual FiDi Report.
"There are some great deals to be had," Hedaya said.
One of the best bargains right now is at 2 Gold St., where the landlord is paying the broker fee and offering two months of free rent, Hedaya said.
In September, a Pace University student was shot and killed in his apartment at 2 Gold St. The 51-story luxury building has drawn many local students in recent years by dropping its prices and offering similar incentives, which some residents said has given it a party atmosphere.
A spokeswoman for TF Cornerstone, the building’s owner, said 2 Gold is less than 1 percent vacant and offered the incentives to combat fall's traditionally slow leasing season.
"The shooting was an isolated, targeted crime," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
Renters can also find good deals now at 20 Exchange Pl., 100 Maiden Ln. and 10 Hanover Square, Hedaya said.
Overall, rents in luxury buildings below Fulton Street increased by about 5 percent in 2010 compared to the year before, with two-bedrooms posting the biggest gain, the report found.
But the market began to soften toward the end of the year, a trend Hedaya thinks could continue as hundreds of new rentals in Frank Gehry's Beekman Tower and in the William Beaver House come online later in 2011.
In comparison, almost no new units opened in the Financial District in 2010, Hedaya said.
