Brookfield Properties commences $50 million Brooklyn Commons redevelopment

Brooklyn, NY Brookfield Properties commenced the official rebrand of the former MetroTech Center in downtown to Brooklyn Commons. The rebranding accompanies a $50 million investment by Brookfield Properties to renovate several of the office buildings within the campus and upgrade the central public park space, in addition to building out year-round arts and events programming that is free and open to the public. “Downtown Brooklyn has rapidly transformed into a thriving commercial and residential district, and we are proud to lead the charge in reimagining Brooklyn Commons as a vibrant hub for business, education, art, culture and community,” said Callie Haines, executive vice president and head of New York, Brookfield Properties. “Embracing and building upon the area’s momentous growth, we are repositioning Brooklyn Commons as an integrated, open campus for the 21^st century.”

Taking lessons from its overhaul of the World Financial Center into Brookfield Place, Brookfield Properties is taking a multipronged approach with an emphasis on placemaking for its new vision of Brooklyn Commons. Built in the 1980s, the 16-acre, 12-building complex was originally designed as a self-contained office park for data-processing centers and back office for financial institutions. Brookfield Properties aims to modernize the campus and weave it into the surrounding neighborhoods.

The $50 million capital improvements entail renovations within 1, 2 and 15 MetroTech, including new lobbies, outdoor terraces, and modernized ground-floor retail. Upgrades to the 3.6-acre Brooklyn Commons Park will be led by landscape architect James Corner Field Operations and include enhanced outdoor seating, new lighting, new signage and wayfinding, redesigned landscaping, seasonal gardens, and plantings.

Arts Brookfield, Brookfield’s award-winning cultural and events program, will curate a robust calendar of free, public events and activations year-round, including theater performances, outdoor movie nights, exercise classes, a children’s book fair, live-music, an ice-skating rink, holiday celebrations and food festivals.

Located near 13 subway lines, Brooklyn Commons is home to a diverse set of tenants across education, media and business including NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Slate Media and JPMorgan Chase.