Downtown as an office marketdivided our panelists into two camps. Jonathan said it has a lot of positives and has come a long ways from his days at the old Coldwell Banker, when "we had guys that would live in the Jonathan Club for $500/month." Now, 10% of the firm's workforce lives Downtown, even if some of the runners are in 200 SF apartments. Kent noted that, as much as Downtown struggles from time to time, "it's always been on a flat or slightly uphill curve" without the big spikes of the Westside. The new housing, restaurants and other amenities make it a more viable decision for traditional downtown office tenants to stay put and grow. On the other hand, Carl says Downtown just isn't getting the same traction. Major employers are looking for leadership if they're going to pioneer a new area. According to Gary, nobody he does business with is thinking about moving their businesses downtown. On the tenant side, the threat of going Downtown has been used against landlords for years, but "most sophisticated landlords on the Westside will call that bluff."

Don't miss part 2 of our coverage: an owner/investor outlook. Julie@bisnow.com.