Brookfield plans €200m remodelling of Berlin asset

Brookfield Properties is planning remodel its Potsdamer Platz assets in Berlin by 2025 at a cost of €200 million.

Brookfield said it is working closely with Berlin’s Mitte district on plans for the 4.3 ha area which is bounded by Potsdamer Strasse, Linkstrasse and Eichhornstrasse and which includes 17 large urban blocks.

Brookfield plans to open up the area’s streets, alleys, and squares, and to improve the quality of the space to match the surroundings of the iconic Potsdamer Platz. The company said it will create modern, pedestrian-friendly recreational, green, and leisure areas with the introduction of sculptures and additional public seating. It said that the district will be the first in Berlin to follow the “Berlin lighting concept”, combining environmental protection, safety and aesthetics.

Brookfield Properties’ executive vice president Karl Wambach said: “We have an ambitious vision for Potsdamer Platz. We want to open up Potsdamer Platz and create a greener space for socializing, public events, and greater all-day use. We envision the entire area around Potsdamer Platz as more energetic, more attractive and a richer experience.”

Brookfield is working with architectural and urban-planning firms Schulze+Grassov and Behnisch Architekten.

Schulze+Grassov co-founder Oliver Schulze said that the people of Potsdamer Platz have felt that the area is “an austere and less-than-cosy urban space”. He added that the exterior design, which dates back to the 1990s, doesn’t respond to their expectations and standards. “As an urban space, Potsdamer Platz has tremendous cultural, social and architectural significance – our plans are designed to ensure the area does justice to it,” he said.

Pedestrianisation and sustainability plans please local authority

“Both the pedestrian zone and the urban development quality and sustainability concept are, in the view of the district administration, very well suited to lead Potsdamer Platz into a bright future,” according to district mayor of Berlin-Mitte Stephan von Dassel.

Brookfield Property Partners completed the acquisition of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin with its joint venture partner, an Asian sovereign wealth fund believed to be the Korean Investment Corporation, in 2016.

The mixed-used estate comprises 17 buildings, 10 streets, and two squares covering a gross area of more than 2.9 million sq ft. At the time the buildings comprised 130,000 sq m of offices, 45,800 sq m of retail and 25,180 sq m of residential with 41,400 sq m of leisure and a hotel. More than 480 companies were said to be resident there.

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