NEWARK — A panel that included representatives from local government, real estate and media convened Monday night to discuss the mounting economic momentum in Newark's downtown.

And while they may not be quite sure what to call it, they all agreed on one thing: it's happening, and happening fast.

The panel gathered at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center for a Town Hall meeting hosted by Montclair State University entitled "Renaissance or Gentrification?: How do we discuss redevelopment in Newark?" devoted to discussion on the changes afoot in Brick City, and how they are covered in the media.

Moderator Merrill Brown, the director of Montclair's School of Communication and Media, asked the group whether they believed recent signs of revitalization, such as the opening of luxury loft apartments and plans for a Whole Foods supermarket, constituted a renaissance of Newark's pre-riots glory days, or a Brooklyn-style "gentrification."

All agreed that more dollars were already flowing through downtown than anytime in recent history, though answers were mixed on what that might mean for the city's future as a whole.

"From a Newarker, a lot of things haven't changed. From a businessman...we're seeing a renaissance. There's a true commercial renaissance in Newark," said Francis J. Giantomasi, a local real estate attorney and planning expert.

Deputy Mayor and Director of Housing and Economic Development Baye Adofo-Wilson echoed the sentiment, but said that Newark's glut of vacant properties, brownfields and space for new development made it uniquely suited to avoid the kind of displacement of longtime residents associated with gentrification in cities like Brooklyn or Jersey City.

"To me it seems sort of like a tidal wave that's coming...the difference is that Newark is a deeper bowl," he said. "When it hits here it's going to, sort of, it has to fill up."

Adofo-Wilson said local officials had already taken measures to help ensure new investment in the city would benefit residents far beyond downtown, such as requiring all new construction projects hire at least 51 percent Newarkers to complete the work.

"If the resources don't come into the city, then you're right, there will be a lot of displacement," he said. "If we can capture the resources that are being spent and capture them....then it's an opportunity for more people to benefit."

Panelists also chided local media for what they perceived as generally negative coverage of the city, which in turn colored residents' views of their community.

Panel members take their seats on stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Monday night.

Derek Ware, who publishes GlocallyNewark.com, said he started the blog in hopes of telling more uplifting stories he felt were being neglected by mainstream outlets.

"We can start changing the narrative that we see. The narrative in stories are not going to be changed by anyone but us," he said.

The meeting's second hour was devoted to questions from audience members, many of whom expressed concern that the city was failing to invest in its more impoverished sections, where foreclosures and underwater mortgages dominate much of the housing stock.

One speaker, James Cunningham, said he was comfortable with the idea that a wave of new residents may soon call the city home, provided that they would not be the only ones to enjoy a new era of prosperity.

"It's gentrification. Let's keep it real. But it's not a bad thing. It's a good thing, as long as everybody's included," he said.

But Akintola Hanif, a photojournalist, filmmaker and founder of Newark-based HYCIDE magazine, said the discussion needed to be moved out of downtown and the halls of academia and into the city's less visible neighborhoods, to engage the people who might eventually stand to be adversely affected by rising rents or other economic changes.

"When we talk about including the community, their basic needs aren't being addressed so this conversation is kind of irrelevant to them," Hanif said. "I think we just need to do a little less talking and a little more listening."

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.