Brookfield Properties is a North American subsidiary of commercial real estate company Brookfield Property Partners, which itself is a subsidiary of alternative asset management company Brookfield Asset Management.[2] It is responsible for the property management of the company's real estate portfolio, which includes facilities in the office, multi-family residential, retail, hospitality, and logistics industries.[3]

Brookfield Properties
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryReal estate
Founded1923; 101 years ago (1923)
HeadquartersBrookfield Place, ,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Brian Kingston (CEO, Brookfield Property Partners)
ServicesProperty development and management
RevenueIncrease US$2.4 billion (2014)
Increase US$2.8 billion (2014)
Total assetsIncrease US$34.4 billion (2014)
Number of employees
2,264 (2008)[1]
ParentBrookfield Property Partners
Websitebrookfieldproperties.com

Brookfield Properties operates corporate offices in New York City, Toronto, London, Sydney, and São Paulo. Brookfield Properties acquired General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the U.S., and merged it into Brookfield Properties in 2018.[4][5]

History edit

 
Brookfield's 1225 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.[6]

The company's roots go back to the early 1900s in Montreal, Quebec. It was known then as the Canadian Arena Company and operated the Montreal Arena. In a partnership with Toronto investors, it built the Arena Gardens in Toronto. In the 1920s, it built the Montreal Forum to house the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens National Hockey League franchises; from 1935 to 1957, the company also owned the Canadiens. The company was acquired by Edper Investments in 1970. During the 1970s, when the company was known as Carena Properties, it expanded its business into commercial real estate.[7] After the Montreal Forum closed, the Forum was sold to competitor Canderel Properties.

In 1989, Carena acquired a 33% interest in Olympia & York Developments Ltd., developers of the World Financial Center in New York,[8] and in 1990, Brookfield acquired a 50% interest in a portfolio of office properties in Toronto, Denver and Minneapolis from BCE Development Corporation. In 1994, this holding was increased to 100% and included BCE Place, now Brookfield Place, Brookfield Properties' flagship office complex in Toronto.[9]

In 1996, Carena acquired a 46% interest in World Financial Properties, a corporation formed from the bankruptcy of Olympia & York, which included three of the four towers of the World Financial Center, One Liberty Plaza, 245 Park Avenue in Manhattan. That year, Carena changed its name to Brookfield Properties Corporation.[10]

In 1997, Brookfield Properties purchased 45% of Gentra, Inc., owner of several commercial properties in Toronto.[11]

2000s edit

In 2000, Brookfield Properties acquired a portfolio of Calgary office properties, including the Bankers Hall complex.[12]

In April 2001, the company lost out to Silverstein Properties, Inc., on the lease of the World Trade Center in New York City before the complex was destroyed during the September 11 attacks.[13]

In 2003, Brookfield Properties completed the spin-off of Brookfield Homes, now part of Brookfield Residential, Brookfield Asset Management's U.S.-based home building business.[14]

In 2005, Brookfield Properties acquired a 25% interest in O&Y Properties Corporation and O&Y Real Estate Investment Trust, expanding the company's real estate portfolio in four Canadian cities.[15]

In 2006, the company acquired Trizec Properties, which was founded in 1960 by William Zeckendorf, builder of Place Ville Marie.[16]

2010s edit

In 2010, it entered into London and Australian markets by acquiring the 100 Bishopsgate development site in the City of London and 16 properties encompassing 8 million SF in three major Australian cities.[17]

On Earth Day on April 22, 2010, the company was listed as one of Canada's "The Green 30" Organizations Based On Eco-Friendly Programs and Practices based on an employee poll.[18]

In 2011, Brookfield Properties divested its residential group consisting of Carma Developers and Brookfield Homes (Ontario) Ltd. to merge with Brookfield Homes Corporation to form Brookfield Residential Properties Inc.[19] That same year, Brookfield Properties changed its name to Brookfield Office Properties to reflect its focus on commercial office properties.[20][21]

In 2013, Brookfield Office Properties Inc. became the largest office landlord in Los Angeles after acquiring MPG Office Trust Inc.'s downtown portfolio.[22] MPG had been one of Southern California's most prominent real estate developers and a longtime L.A. office tower owner. The MPG buildings they acquired include the Gas Company Tower, 777 Tower and the Wells Fargo Center on Bunker Hill.[23][24]

In June 2014, Brookfield Property Partners (BPY) completed their acquisition of Brookfield Office Properties (BPO). BPO common shares were de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange as of June 10, 2014, and from the New York Stock Exchange on June 20, 2014. Brookfield Property Partners is now the sole owner of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of BPO.[25]

On August 28, 2018, Brookfield Property Partners acquired Chicago-based real estate investment trust and shopping mall operator GGP Inc. (General Growth Properties), and merged its assets into Brookfield Properties, for $9 billion.[26] Brookfield immediately sold a 49% interest in each of three former GGP super-regional malls to CBRE Group, and a 49% interest in three other former GGP malls to TIAA subsidiary Nuveen, seeking additional joint ventures for its newly acquired malls.[27] The acquisition added 162 shopping malls comprising approximately 146 million sq ft (13.6 million m2) of gross leasable area to Brookfield's portfolio.

In December 2018, Brookfield Properties took over the management of Forest City Realty Trust's real estate portfolio after the company was acquired by a fund affiliated with Brookfield Asset Management.[28]

2020s edit

In September 2020, the company's retail group announced a layoff of 20% of its workforce of about 2,000 people.[29]

In May 2023, Brookfield Properties announced a purchase of a 115,000 square foot Doral warehouse at 1500 Northwest 95th Avenue for $16 million.[30]

Zuccotti Park edit

The company is the owner of Zuccotti Park, a publicly accessible park adjacent to one of its office buildings near Wall Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City, that in September 2011 became a site of protests by Occupy Wall Street. On October 11, 2011, Richard Clark, the company's CEO, sent a letter to NYC Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly requesting to "clear the park" as its use by Occupy Wall Street "violates the law, violates the rules of the Park, deprives the community of its rights of quiet enjoyment to the Park, and creates health and public safety issues."[31] The request was later withdrawn.[32] The park was reopened on November 11, 2011.[33]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Company Profile for Brookfield Properties Corp (BPO)". Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  2. ^ "The Power 100: Commercial Real Estate's Most Powerful Players". The Commercial Observer. April 23, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "About Us". Brookfield Properties. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2019. Brookfield Properties – a global alternative asset manager with over $500 billion in assets under management.
  4. ^ Thomas, Lauren; Wang, Christine (March 26, 2018). "Brookfield Property Partners to buy US mall owner GGP". CNBC. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Sanchez, Luis (September 8, 2019). "How Brookfield's Acquisition of GGP Looks One Year Later". The Motley Fool. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Plumb, Tierney (October 8, 2009). "1225 Connecticut Avenue Gets LEED Platinum". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  7. ^ "Brookfield: History". Brookfield Properties. Archived from the original on July 22, 2006.
  8. ^ Dinger, Ed; Ingati, Paul (2018). "Brookfield Office Properties, Inc.". In Johnson, Drew D. (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 199. St. James Press. pp. 79–84. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. ^ Brookfield Office Properties history Archived November 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-03-06
  10. ^ Dinger, Ed; Ingati, Paul (2018). "Brookfield Office Properties, Inc.". In Johnson, Drew D. (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 199. St. James Press. pp. 79–84. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Dinger, Ed; Ingati, Paul (2018). "Brookfield Office Properties, Inc.". In Johnson, Drew D. (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 199. St. James Press. pp. 79–84. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  12. ^ Dinger, Ed; Ingati, Paul (2018). "Brookfield Office Properties, Inc.". In Johnson, Drew D. (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 199. St. James Press. pp. 79–84. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "Deal Is Signed To Take Over Trade Center". The New York Times. April 27, 2001. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Dinger, Ed; Ingati, Paul (2018). "Brookfield Office Properties, Inc.". In Johnson, Drew D. (ed.). International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 199. St. James Press. pp. 79–84. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  15. ^ "Brookfield Group buys O&Y". The Globe and Mail. June 1, 2005. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Foran, Max (1982). Calgary, Canada's frontier metropolis : an illustrated history. Windsor Publications. p. 356. ISBN 0-89781-055-4.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Brookfield pays £43m for 50pc stake in Bishopsgate". The Daily Telegraph. April 1, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  18. ^ "Employees Identify "The Green 30" Organizations Based On Eco-Friendly Programs and Practices". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  19. ^ "Brookfield Residential and Brookfield Homes Report Completion of Merger and Contribution". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  20. ^ "11-300 Brookfield Properties Corporation ("BPO") Name Change to: Brookfield Office Properties Inc" (PDF). Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  21. ^ "Brookfield Properties Announces Plan to Become a Pure-Play Office Company" (Press release). Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  22. ^ "Brookfield to Buy MPG Office Trust". The Wall Street Journal. April 26, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  23. ^ Vincent, Roger (13 October 2013) "Brookfield becomes dominant landlord in L.A. financial district" Los Angeles Times
  24. ^ Vincent, Roger (November 14, 2014) "Oaktree Capital agrees to expand offices in downtown Los Angeles" Los Angeles Times
  25. ^ "Brookfield Property Partners Completes Acquisition of Brookfield Office Properties". Yahoo! Finance. June 9, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  26. ^ "Brookfield Property Partners L.P. Completes Acquisition of GGP Inc" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. August 28, 2018.
  27. ^ Campbell, Kyle (August 29, 2018). "Brookfield sells shares in three more mall properties". Real Estate Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  28. ^ "Farewell, Forest City. Brookfield wraps up purchase of Cleveland real estate company". The Plain Dealer. December 7, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  29. ^ Thomas, Lauren (September 22, 2020). "Brookfield Properties' retail arm is laying off 20% of its workforce, as pandemic hits malls". CNBC. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  30. ^ Dilakian, Steven (May 9, 2023). "USA Bouquet Sells Doral Warehouse to Brookfield Properties". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  31. ^ Brookfield Properties (October 13, 2011). "Zucotti Park Owner's Letter to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Occupy Wall Street". Public Intelligence. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  32. ^ Moynihan, Colin & Buckley, Cara (October 14, 2011). "Cleanup of Zuccotti Park Is Postponed". New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  33. ^ Barron, James; Moynihan, Colin (November 15, 2011). "City Reopens Park After Protesters Are Evicted". New York Times.

External links edit