Brookfield Place (New York City)

Brookfield Place (previously named and still commonly referred to as the World Financial Center) is a shopping center and office building complex in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located in the Battery Park City neighborhood, across West Street from the World Trade Center, and overlooks the Hudson River. The complex is currently owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management.

Brookfield Place
Brookfield Place, then the World Financial Center, in December 2005, with construction on the World Trade Center taking place in the background
Former namesWorld Financial Center (1985–2014)
General information
Town or cityNew York City, New York
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°42′47″N 74°00′56″W
Opened1985 (1985)
Owner
Management
  • Brookfield Properties
  • (Brookfield Asset Management)
Design and construction
Architect(s)César Pelli
Architecture firmAdamson Associates
DeveloperOlympia and York
Other information
ParkingSelf-park and valet garages
Public transit access
Website
bfplny.com

History
The complex viewed from the World Trade Center Windows on the World dining room

Designed by architect César Pelli,[1] with Adamson Associates, the World Financial Center complex was built by Olympia and York from 1983 to 1988[2] on the landfill used to build Battery Park City.[3]

During the September 11 attacks in 2001, debris severely damaged the lobby and lower floors' granite cladding and glass. It has since been fully restored and significant repairs were made to the other buildings in the complex. The Winter Garden Atrium received major structural damage to its glass and steel frame, but ceremonially reopened on September 11, 2002.[4]

After the attacks, the World Financial Center underwent a $250 million renovation and expansion project, in conjunction with the construction of a new east–west passageway linking the complex with the World Trade Center site.[5] The project included a transit pavilion to be built as an extension of the existing Winter Garden Atrium, on the West Street side. Preliminary plans called for the demolition of the Grand Staircase, which was the main focal entry point to Winter Garden and the waterfront, as it connected to the Vesey Street pedestrian bridge adjacent to the original World Trade Center. The Grand Staircase has also been used as an amphitheater; thus, the plans for demolition had outraged residents, who promptly appealed for its preservation in the latest redevelopment plans. The transit pavilion opened in 2013, and is located at 100 West Street.[6][7]

Leasable space on the lower floors of the office towers underwent conversions and expansion to accommodate new retail. One notable example is 2 Brookfield Place: a European-style marketplace and dining terrace opened in 2013. The space between 3 and 4 Brookfield Place, at 225 Vesey Street, which contained retail, expanded to accommodate in‑line retail and high-end fashion retail, according to the plans and renderings. With some restaurants and retail temporarily closed due to construction, a food truck court was in operation beginning in early 2012 on North End Avenue. Various food trucks that operate around New York City, serving a variety of foods, service the Brookfield Place/Battery Park City area five days a week during lunch hours.[8] A new 2,000-seat food court comprising existing restaurants, such as Le District and Hudson Eats, and new restaurants, opened in stages between November 2014 and March 2015; the food area is projected to generate about $120 million of revenue annually.[9][10] Overall, the intent is to drive more tourism in the area with the retail and the new access to the passageway under West Street. It is also being developed as a catalyst to integrate and drive development in the adjacent largely residential Battery Park City area.[11]

Brookfield Properties bought the adjacent One North End Avenue building, headquarters of the New York Mercantile Exchange, in 2013, for US$200 million, and integrated it into the complex.[12] Following expansion, the entire World Financial Center complex was renamed Brookfield Place, in conjunction with similar complexes in Toronto, Calgary, and Perth owned by Brookfield. The name change took place in 2014.[13]

Ownership

Brookfield Place is owned by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management,[14] except for the space occupied by American Express, which is owned by the American Express Company. 250 Vesey Street serves as the United States headquarters for Brookfield Asset Management.[15][16] Brookfield Place has its own zip code, 10281. The buildings' original developer was Olympia and York, also based in Toronto.[14]

Notable tenants

Brookfield Place has been home to offices of various companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, Jane Street Capital, Time Inc. 95.5 K-LOVE, 96.7 Air1, and Brookfield Asset Management. In 2014, the complex was given its current name following the completion of extensive renovations.[17] Brookfield Place is also the home of College Board, the nonprofit managing both Advanced Placement and the SAT.[18]

List of buildings
Building Previous names Year
opened		 Height No. of
stories		 Gross leasable area Roof type Notes
200 Liberty Street One World Financial Center 1986 577 feet (176 m) 40 1,628,000 square feet (151,200 m2) Truncated square pyramid
225 Liberty Street Two World Financial Center 1987 645 feet (197 m) 44 2,667,222 square feet (247,793.0 m2) Round dome Colloquially the South Tower
200 Vesey Street Three World Financial Center 1985 739 feet (225 m) 51 2,491,000 square feet (231,400 m2) Pyramid Colloquially the American Express Tower
250 Vesey Street Four World Financial Center 1986 500 feet (150 m) 34 1,800,000 square feet (170,000 m2) Ziggurat Colloquially the North Tower
Winter Garden Atrium — 1988 120 feet (37 m) 10 295,000 square feet (27,400 m2) Glass atrium
One North End Avenue — 1997 255 feet (78 m) 16 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) Flat Colloquially 300 Vesey Street and the New York Mercantile Exchange building; integrated into Brookfield Place in 2013

The Winter Garden Atrium is a 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2) glass domed pavilion housing various plants, trees and flowers, also shopping areas, cafes (located between buildings 2 and 3), rebuilt 2002 after terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The pavilion also exhibits a range of contemporary artists including Reyna Noriega,[19] Julia Whitney Barnes, Tatiana Arocha, Anne Beffel, Jane Benson, Curtis Cuffie, Charles Goldman, Elke Lehmann, Pia Lindman, Brian P. McGrath, Andrea Ray, and Alex Villar.[20][21]

  • World Financial Center at night (2006)
    World Financial Center at night (2006)
  • 200 Vesey Street
    200 Vesey Street
  • Standing alongside the World Trade Center, as it appeared in August 2000
    Standing alongside the World Trade Center, as it appeared in August 2000
  • Picture taken just after the Twin Towers collapsed in 2001
    Picture taken just after the Twin Towers collapsed in 2001
  • Entrance of one of the World Financial Center buildings on September 14, 2001, three days after being damaged by the terrorist attacks on September 11
    Entrance of one of the World Financial Center buildings on September 14, 2001, three days after being damaged by the terrorist attacks on September 11
  • The Winter Garden Atrium, as it appeared in June 2007
    The Winter Garden Atrium, as it appeared in June 2007
  • As seen from on board the United States Navy amphibious transport dock ship, the USS New York (LPD-21), in November 2009
    As seen from on board the United States Navy amphibious transport dock ship, the USS New York (LPD-21), in November 2009
  • World Financial Center in the evening (2007)
    World Financial Center in the evening (2007)

References
  1. "The World Financial Center". www.batteryparkcity.org/. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  2. Kandell, Jonathan (October 26, 2013). "Paul Reichmann, Who Helped Develop the World Financial Center, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  3. Goldberger, Paul (November 20, 1988). "BATTERY PARK CITY: NEW YORK'S NEWEST NEIGHBORHOOD; To the Heights of Simplicity". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  4. "World Financial Center, New York City". Aviewoncities.com. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  5. "Lower Manhattan : News | World Financial Center Pavilion Plans Unveiled". Lowermanhattan.info. June 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  6. "Renovation Updates". Worldfinancialcenter.com. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  7. "World Financial Center". worldfinancialcenter.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  8. "Food truck court schedule". Worldfinancialcenter.com. April 27, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  9. Cuozzo, Steve (April 21, 2014). "Brookfield's $250M development rocks downtown". New York Post. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  10. "Brookfield Place". Brookfield Place New York. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  11. "WFC 2013 Vision". Worldfinancialcenter.com. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  12. Levitt, David M (November 26, 2013). "Brookfield Buys Manhattan's Nymex Building From CME Group". Bloomberg.
  13. "World Financial Center to be Renamed 'Brookfield Place' in Fall 2013". Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  14. Holusha, John (December 15, 1996). "From Olympia & York Bankruptcy, a New Company". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  15. "World Financial Center and Winter Garden New York City.com : Arts & Attractions : Editorial Review". Nyc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  16. "about". Worldfinancialcenter.com. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  17. Sherman, Lauren (September 6, 2016). "Inside the Reinvention of Saks Fifth Avenue". Business of Fashion.
  18. "Contact Us | College Board". about.collegeboard.org. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  19. Shahgholi, Hazel (November 11, 2020). "Holiday lights and magic at Brookfield Place, World Trade Center". amNewYork. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  20. "World Financial Center Series returns to Lower Manhattan". WNYC. October 17, 2002. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  21. "Brookfield Place/200 Liberty St". Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Brookfield Place (New York City) (category)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.