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WHILE TURMOIL plagues rebuilding efforts at the World Trade Center, the commercial office market in lower Manhattan is on the upswing.
In a revival that has been overshadowed by the politicking at Ground Zero, landlords are quietly raising their asking rents, the pace of leasing is quickening and several deals are in the works for large blocks of space.
Driving the activity is the midtown market, where rents have soared to historic highs and contiguous space is at a premium.
"Notwithstanding what is going on across the street at the World Trade Center, lower Manhattan rises and falls with the fate of midtown, and midtown rents are spiking," says Ric Clark, the chief executive of Brookfield Properties, which owns the World Financial Center, across West Street from Ground Zero.
Still, higher asking rents do not necessarily translate into higher actual rents. "We don't have a sense yet that taking rents have...