We recently compiled a report on the 20 Cities With The Biggest Downtowns In The US and in this article we will look at the city that topped our list.
America’s Deserted Downtowns: The Background
Downtown also commonly called the central business district of a city is its commercial and cultural center. Downtowns across the US are unique in regards to the history, culture, density, and vibrancy they tend to offer. However, many of the downtowns in the country remain deserted as an after-effect of the global pandemic. This is because many residents left the city centers amidst the remote work settings that emerged during the lockdowns thereby leaving behind once booming business districts which then started to struggle.
For reviving such downtowns and fixing the overall US housing shortage, the Biden administration has expressed its favor in converting commercial properties to residential use after noticing high downtown office vacancies. As reported by CNN, several issues resist the conversion cities want to undertake to save their downtowns such as restrictive zoning, office spaces positioned in places where people don’t wish to live, structural differences between offices and homes, or the unavailability of offices for conversion. For instance, downtown Denver encompasses only 2% of its office buildings with a potential to undergo this change.
Residential Homebuilders to the Rescue
During a period of the aforementioned lack of houses in the US, several American homebuilders have remained resilient despite the demoralizing state of the national housing market. PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) is one such homebuilder that has a homebuilding history of over seven decades and engages in home construction in 24 states and in more than 40 major cities including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas. Pulte Homes® brings the Pulte difference to homebuyers through flexible floor plans, options for all budgets, quality construction, and the ease of buying and financing the desired home. The homebuilder closed the fiscal first quarter of 2024 with a strong financial performance and high home sale revenues driven by strong demand and its alignment with the unique needs of first-time, move-up, and active-adult consumers.
As reported by CNN, the new US home sales experienced the slowest pace since November after declining by 11.3% in May. Additionally, home prices climbed to a record $419,300. Simultaneously, Bank of America has forecasted home prices to climb by 4.5% this year. With mortgage rates hovering around 7% and just one rate cut on the horizon as signaled by the Fed, market conditions remain tight.
However, the strong desire for homeownership in a supply-constrained environment as emphasized during the firm’s earnings call creates enough demand for the company to keep its performance robust. Furthermore, the company’s diversified portfolio of brands including Pulte, Del Webb, DiVosta, Centex, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West which covers all buyer groups reduces the market risks for it. The company is also opening ways to broaden its national footprint and capture a larger consumer base by expanding recently into multiple markets including Portland, Denver, and Salt Lake City.
Aerial view of a high-rise building in the New York City metropolitan area.
Our Methodology:
In order to compile a list of the 20 US cities with big downtowns, we used Reddit to find 15 threads that asked people about such cities. We read and analyzed all the comments and added the upvotes for each city on our list. Lastly, we shortlisted the cities that had at least a total of 150 upvotes and ranked those on our list in ascending order of the total upvotes on Reddit. The distinctive features of the respective downtowns have been discussed in the list.
Note: This list is not exhaustive and does not reflect our opinion. The ranking is solely based on the opinions of Reddit users.
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The City With the Biggest Downtown in the US
1. New York City
Upvotes: 547
New York City ranks at the top of the US cities with the biggest downtowns. Downtown New York also referred to as Lower Manhattan strengthens NYC’s presence as a global financial center. The world-known Wall Street is positioned in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Iconic structures such as the Bull of Wall Street, New York City Hall, and the Woolworth Building are positioned in the downtown. Some of the places that have been recommended for a visit to the city’s downtown include witnessing the One World Observatory, the National September 11 Museum, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Curious to learn about other cities that have large downtowns? Check out our report on the 20 Cities With The Biggest Downtowns In The US.
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