9.4M Square Feet of Office Space for Lower Manhattan

Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander today announced an agreement between the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) and Brookfield Properties (Brookfield) to modify the ground lease for Brookfield Place, a 9.4 million square foot office and retail complex located in Battery Park City. The new lease terms, which secure higher ground rent payments and extends the lease term from 2069 to 2119, is projected to generate an estimated $1.5 billion of current value for the City of New York and for the Joint Purpose Fund, which supports affordable housing development across New York City as agreed upon by Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Comptroller Lander and BPCA.

“This agreement not only ensures the stability of Battery Park City while building and preserving more affordable homes throughout New York City — it also uplifts the city’s economy by securing Brookfield Place for years to come,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration will continue to work with our private, city and local partners to promote affordable housing, economic growth and deliver only the best for New Yorkers.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “From the most jobs in city history to historic amounts of housing, the Adams administration has been relentless in creating a safer, stronger, more affordable city. Today’s announcement with Brookfield Properties doubles down on our success, laying the groundwork for another five decades of economic growth and new homes. I often say that New York City is not just coming back, we are back and better than ever, and agreements like this one show why. We will bolster Lower Manhattan’s role as a job creator for the entire city while investing billions of dollars in the housing New Yorkers need. That is a win for our city, state, and private partners.”

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, “With this renegotiated ground lease, Battery Park City can increase long-term revenues through 2119 — continuing to thrive as an economic engine in Lower Manhattan — and continue to lay the groundwork toward financing affordable housing. Resilient design, environmental responsibility, and affordability are not trade-offs, but the blueprint for a fiscally and socially sustainable city for New Yorkers. Because of the partnership with the Governor, BCPA, and the Mayor, we are able to achieve progress toward our goals to strengthen economic activity, build affordable housing, and shore up the fiscal base in Battery Park City.”

This agreement underscores the continued strength of Lower Manhattan’s office market, of which Brookfield Place comprises approximately 10 percent of inventory, and builds upon Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, and Comptroller Lander’s announcement in 2024 of a $500 million investment in the Joint Purpose Fund to build and preserve affordable housing in New York City.

Battery Park City Authority Chair Don Capoccia said, “Battery Park City Authority is glad to deliver this agreement for the future of affordable housing, for the future of downtown — for New Yorkers. I thank Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Comptroller Lander, our partners at Brookfield, and Raju and the BPCA team for securing this historic and impactful win.”

Battery Park City Authority President and CEO Raju Mann said, “This agreement is a powerful vote of confidence in the commercial vitality of New York. By extending and updating our lease structure with Brookfield, we’re not only ensuring the continued financial strength of lower Manhattan and Battery Park City but also advancing our mission to promote affordable housing citywide. We thank the Governor, Mayor, Comptroller and Brookfield for their partnership.”

Representative Dan Goldman said, “As we face a housing crisis in our city, I am grateful for this agreement between Battery Park City Authority and Brookfield Place that will add revenue to the Joint Purpose Fund ultimately contributing to increased affordable housing. BPCA and Brookfield Place share a common goal to invest and strengthen Lower Manhattan, and this agreement will support doing just that."

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said, “This lease agreement represents exactly the kind of creative partnership we need to tackle Manhattan's severe housing shortage. By securing $1.5 billion for affordable housing development, this agreement transforms commercial real estate success into tangible impacts for working families across our borough and the entire city. At a time when countless New Yorkers are struggling with skyrocketing rents and limited housing options, today's deal proves that strategic negotiations can generate substantial resources to build the affordable homes our communities desperately need.”

New York City Councilmember Christopher Marte said, “This agreement to renegotiate and extend Brookfield Properties’ ground lease is welcome news for Lower Manhattan and for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. By updating the terms and securing higher ground rent payments, we’re not only ensuring the continued presence of Brookfield Place but also generating critical revenue that can go directly toward building and preserving affordable housing citywide. It’s an important step forward for our community and a clear example of how smart partnerships can strengthen our local economy while addressing the housing crisis.”

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “The financial stability created by this agreement will generate $1.5 billion that the State and the City can invest together to build and preserve affordable housing in neighborhoods across every borough, while also putting the pieces in place to ensure Brookfield Place remains an economic powerhouse for generations to come. The partnership of the Governor, Mayor, Comptroller and BPCA shows how the role of government in New York is generating results that provide critical benefits to residents and businesses alike.”

New York State Association for Affordable Housing President and CEO Carlina Rivera said, “This groundbreaking agreement is a model for how smart public-private partnerships can deliver real, lasting benefits for all New Yorkers. By leveraging one of Lower Manhattan’s premier commercial assets, we’re unlocking billions of dollars in funding that will directly support the development and preservation of affordable housing across the five boroughs. NYSAFAH applauds Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Comptroller Lander, and the Battery Park City Authority for ensuring that New York’s economic growth also fuels greater housing equity and opportunity.”

New York Housing Conference Executive Director Rachel Fee said, “Too often, the benefits of New York’s thriving real estate market don’t reach the families struggling most with housing costs. By securing stable revenues from Brookfield Place through this new agreement with the Battery Park City Authority and dedicating them to affordable housing, state and city leaders are ensuring that vital resources will be available to create and preserve the homes New Yorkers urgently need for decades to come.”

Alliance for Downtown New York President Jessica Lappin said, “This deal represents the kind of creative, forward-thinking partnerships we need and reflects the enduring vitality and strength of Lower Manhattan. The Downtown Alliance applauds Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Comptroller Lander and the Battery Park City Authority for their leadership in securing this agreement.”

The Battery Park City Authority owns the land in Battery Park City and has long term leases in place with the building owners in the neighborhood. In exchange for a longer lease term, Brookfield is committing to pay higher ground rents which will primarily flow to the Joint Purpose Fund and support the construction and preservation of affordable housing throughout New York City.

The agreement establishes a rent schedule under which the City and State benefit from the economic performance of the buildings, replacing the existing agreement that was formed before the commercial success of the complex was proven. The new agreement reflects the strong current and anticipated performance of the complex under Brookfield’s stewardship, aligning stakeholder interests, incentivizing ongoing capital investment and enabling the City and State to benefit from that commercial success, generating an estimated $1.5 billion of current value over the lease term.

As part of the agreement, BPCA has secured additional commitments designed to support the future of Brookfield Place and Battery Park City.

Resiliency & Sustainability

Brookfield will commit to reducing emissions and waste with a goal of reaching net zero by 2050 and enhance its reporting on energy and waste usage.

Capital Investments

Brookfield has invested approximately $900 million in Brookfield Place and anticipates investing more than $100 million over the next several years in capital improvements to help attract and retain top-tier tenants and ensure it remains a Class A asset.

Community Benefits & Diversity Contracting

Brookfield will contribute up to $2.5 million for public realm improvements to West Street, set aside up to 10,000 square feet of office space for nonprofits and community organizations, and meet New York State’s Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs) goals on capital contracts.

Located in Battery Park City, the four original towers of Brookfield Place were developed by Olympia & York as the World Financial Center between 1983-1988. Subsequent to Olympia & York’s bankruptcy in 1992, Brookfield Properties acquired the majority interest in the four original towers of Brookfield Place. In 2013, Brookfield acquired 300 Vesey Street. Over the last decade, Brookfield has invested $900 million to modernize Brookfield Place, including a renovation of the Winter Garden, constructing the east-west passageway linking Brookfield Place with the World Trade Center, and repositioning of the retail at Brookfield Place introducing dynamic new retail and dining offerings. In addition, Brookfield has invested $220 million to modernize and enhance the legacy of World Financial Center office lobbies, mechanical systems and elevators and spent $40 million to modernize and enhance Brookfield Place’s sustainability features. Today, Brookfield Place is one of New York City’s premier mixed-use office and retail complexes and includes five office buildings with heavily touristed retail and dining offerings and tenants such as Royal Bank of Canada, Jones Day, Cadwalader, Invesco, People Inc, and Jane Street Brookfield Place receives million of visitors annually.

BPCA owns the 92 acres that comprise Battery Park City, with all third-party owned buildings within the neighborhood on ground sub-leases to the Authority. The BPCA financing structure supports both the Battery Park City neighborhood — funding maintenance of open spaces, neighborhood beautification and programming, and supporting debt service used to fund portions of BPCA’s capital projects — and the City of New York — contributing to both its General Fund and affordable housing initiatives citywide.

BPCA collects revenue from these ground sub-leases in the form of ground rent, Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), and other fees. These revenues first fund BPCA’s operating expenses and debt service, with the majority of remaining funds, known as “excess revenues,” annually distributed to the City. The share associated with PILOT (approximately 80 percent of BPCA’s excess revenues) flows to the New York City General Fund and the share associated with ground rent is allocated to a Joint Purpose Fund, the use of which is decided unanimously by the Mayor, New York City Comptroller, and BPCA. In 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Mayor Adams, New York City Comptroller Lander in announcing that BPCA will disburse $500 million in excess operating revenues to New York City’s Affordable Housing Accelerator Fund for the purpose of building affordable housing across the five boroughs. Since 2010, BPCA’s excess operating revenues have contributed more than $460 million in dedicated funding for affordable housing across the five boroughs and helped build or preserve over 10,000 units of affordable housing.

This agreement is the latest action by BPCA to secure long-term stability in the neighborhood. In June 2025, BPCA executed an agreement to preserve and triple the number of affordable apartments at Tribeca Bridge Tower, a 152-unit rental building in Battery Park City. In 2022, BPCA announced an agreement with Rockrose to preserve 70 affordable rental homes in Tribeca Pointe, a Battery Park City apartment building, for nearly 50 years. In 2020, BPCA announced an agreement with Marina Towers Associates to extend a rent protection agreement at Gateway Plaza, Battery Park City’s oldest and largest residential complex, for approximately 600 long-time residents through July 2030.

About BPCA

Established in 1968, The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority is a New York State Public Benefit Corporation charged with developing and maintaining a well-balanced, 92-acre community of commercial, residential, retail and open space, including 36 acres of public parks, on Manhattan’s Lower West Side. Through execution of its first-ever strategic plan, BPCA works daily toward being an inclusive community, a safe and climate resilient place, a vibrant public space, and demonstrating leadership for the future with a team dedicated to improving service and project delivery. For more info visit: bpca.ny.gov.