Skip to content
  • Industry
    • Residential
    • Office
    • Retail
    • Industrial
    • Hospitality
    • Land
    • Healthcare
    • Life Sciences
    • Special Purpose
    • Mixed-Use
  • Markets
    • Los Angeles
    • New York City
    • Manhattan
    • Queens
    • Bronx
    • National
    • Washington DC
    • South Florida
  • Leases
    • Office Leases
    • Ground Lease
    • Sublease
    • Tenant Talk
    • Deals of the Week
    • All Leases
  • Finance
    • Acquisition
    • CMBS
    • Construction Financing
    • Distress
    • Refinance
    • Deals of the Week
    • All Finance
  • Investments
    • Development Site Sale
    • Portfolio Sale
    • Sale-Leaseback
    • Value-Add
    • Deals of the Week
    • All Sales
  • Development
    • Architecture
    • Construction
    • Conversion
    • Redevelopment
    • Sustainability
    • All Development
  • Capital Markets
    • Alternative Lending
    • Earnings
    • Economy
    • Foreign Investments
    • Private Credit
    • Private Equity
    • Public Markets
    • REITs
    • All Capital Markets
  • Tech
  • Weekly Issue
  • Events
  • Power
  • More
    • Players
    • Legal
    • Policy
    • Features
    • Research & Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Partner Insights
    • Transportation
    • Videos
Log In Sign Up My Account Log Out
  • Account Details
  • Email Preferences
  • Member FAQs
  • Logout
Commercial Observer
  • Industry
  • Residential
    • Multifamily
    • Homebuilding
    • Condo
    • Hotel Condo
    • Student Housing
    • Single-Family Rental
    • Short-Term Rental
    • Senior Living
  • Office
    • Coworking
    • Flex
  • Retail
    • Shopping Centers
    • Outlet/Factory Malls
    • Supermarkets/Grocery Stores
    • Showrooms/Dealerships
    • Street Retail
  • Industrial
    • Data Centers
    • Distribution Centers
    • Industrial Outdoor Storage
    • Manufacturing
    • Self-Storage
    • Studios/Soundstages
    • Warehouse
  • Hospitality
    • Casinos
    • Convention Centers
    • Hotel/Resort
    • Restaurants
  • Land
    • Farm Land
    • Parking Lots
  • Healthcare
    • Hospitals
    • Medical Offices
    • Nursing Homes & Assisted Living
  • Life Sciences
  • Special Purpose
    • Air Rights
    • Arenas/Stadiums
    • Development Rights
    • Educational
    • Government/Military
    • Museums
    • Place of Worship
    • Theaters
  • Infrastructure
    • Airports
    • Bridges/Tunnels
    • Highways
    • Railways
  • Mixed-Use
  • Markets
    • Los Angeles
    • New York City
    • Manhattan
    • Queens
    • Bronx
    • National
    • Washington DC
    • South Florida
  • Leases
    • Office Leases
    • Ground Lease
    • Sublease
    • Tenant Talk
    • Deals of the Week
    • All
  • Finance
    • Acquisition
    • Construction Financing
    • CMBS
    • Distress
    • Refinance
    • Deals of the Week
    • All
  • Investments & Sales
    • Development Site Sale
    • Portfolio Sale
    • Sale-Leaseback
    • Value-Add
    • Deals of the Week
    • All
  • Development
    • Architecture
    • Construction
    • Conversion
    • Redevelopment
    • Sustainability
    • All
  • Capital Markets
    • Alternative Lending
    • Earnings
    • Economy
    • Foreign Investments
    • Private Credit
    • Private Equity
    • Public Markets
    • REITs
    • All
  • Technology
  • Policy
    • Housing
    • Transportation
    • Urban Planning
    • Zoning
  • Legal
  • Weekly Issue
  • Events
  • Power Series
  • More
    • Features
    • Columnists
    • Research & Analysis
    • Partner Insights
    • Players
    • Videos
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Reprints
  • Newsletters
  • Power Finance
  • Power 100
  • Owners Magazine
Log In Sign Up My Account Log Out
  • Account Details
  • Email Preferences
  • Member FAQs
  • Logout
  • © 2025 Observer Media · Terms · Privacy

Office
New York City
Leases   ·   Office Leases

Presented By: Citrin Cooperman

Brookfield Leads The Charge On Flight To Quality

By Citrin Cooperman January 28, 2025 10:57 am
reprints


At a time when flight-to-quality has come to define the fate of the office sector, Brookfield Properties has found itself optimally positioned, with an office portfolio filled with Class A properties prospering in a way that defies overall market conditions.

Callie Haines, Brookfield’s executive vice president and head of the Northeast Region, discussed some of Brookfield’s current successes in this area on the latest installment of “Coffee with Citrin Cooperman,” a video series presented by Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC and produced with Commercial Observer, and hosted by Citrin Cooperman partner Nicole Barthelemy.

SEE ALSO: Paramount Group Unveils a New Standard in Workplace Hospitality

“Flight-to-quality has really accelerated over the past few years, largely due to the impact of Covid. It has impacted Brookfield in a very positive way,” said Haines. “The majority of our portfolio is trophy, or Class A. So we’ve been a big beneficiary of this.”

Haines, who will celebrate her 20th anniversary with Brookfield in 2025, noted several examples of how the firm’s properties have met the corporate world’s current demand.

“Manhattan West is six million square feet, and 95 percent leased,” said Haines. “At 660 5th Avenue, we completed the redevelopment during COVID, turning a Class B asset at a fantastic location into a trophy building. So our timing was pretty fortuitous on that.”

Haines pointed out just how essential it is for developers to deliver only the highest-quality product in today’s market.    

“Ninety percent of the vacancies in the market are in 30 percent of the assets,” said Haines. “That’s a really telling statistic about how flight-to-quality 

has pushed occupancy in the high-end market.”

While the demand side of the office equation has found companies seeking only the best and nothing less, supply of such properties has hit its limits in New York, leading to low vacancies at the best properties and efforts to upgrade from those whose properties miss the mark. 

“There is a lack of trophy office space right now, and there is no new supply coming online,” said Haines. “What that is going to do is push owners of lesser-quality assets with capital to invest in creating a redeveloped class of office building. We’ll see a great rejuvenation of some assets that have just sort of chugged along throughout the years. It’s a marked shift.”

Haines also discussed how this shift will not only lead to more ground-up and redeveloped top-of-the-line office product, but also cause owners of B and C properties to investigate other upgraded alternatives. 

“This has been forcing landlords to think about what other uses are there,” said Haines. “Could a property be converted to housing, including student housing? What are the other needs of the neighborhood, and of the city itself? So it’s a really interesting turning point in the market right now where things will have to change, and every market needs a refresh.”

Haines also discussed other positive signs for the sector including an overall increase in return-to-office, and the positive response of tenants to strong sustainability efforts of the sort that Brookfield has been leading.

“We announced last year that we are going to convert the entire U.S. portfolio to zero emissions electricity,” said Haines. “That’s largely through hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear. The New York and DC markets will be 100 percent fueled by zero emissions electricity by the end of this year. We’re really excited about that, and our tenants and investors are excited about it. It’s the wave of the future. By doing this, we are reducing our carbon emissions across the country by 90 percent.”

Brookfield Properties, Callie Haines, Coffee with Citrin Cooperman, Nicole Barthelemy, Sponsored, sponsored-link, Citrin Cooperman
 
Trending Stories
Office · Leases
New York City

Paramount Group Unveils a New Standard in Workplace Hospitality

Residential · Technology
New York City

Proptech in Affordable Housing: Finding Efficiencies Amid the Red Tape

Residential · Players
National

Sherry Wang Leaves Goldman Sachs to Join Vistria Group as Partner

Residential · Policy
New York City

Amid Mamdani’s Rent-Freeze Pledge, NYC Rent Guidelines Board OKs Increases

Sherry Wang.
Residential · Players
National

Sherry Wang Leaves Goldman Sachs to Join Vistria Group as Partner

By Mark Hallum
Francis Lynch of Carr Properties.
Office · Capital Markets
National

Go-To Guy: How Carr Properties Chief Investment Officer Francis Lynch Invests in CRE

By Brian Pascus
New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) greets supporters during an election night gathering.
Industry · Features
National

Sunday Summary: Zohran Mamdani Shocks CRE

By The Editors
More

  • Industry
    • Residential
    • Office
    • Retail
    • Industrial
    • Hospitality
    • Healthcare
    • Life Sciences
    • Special Purpose
    • Infrastructure
    • Mixed-Use
  • Leases
    • Office Leases
    • Ground Lease
    • Sublease
    • Tenant Talk
  • Finance
    • Acquisition
    • Construction Financing
    • CMBS
    • Distress
    • Refinance
  • Investments
    • Development Site
    • Portfolio Sale
    • Sale-Leaseback
    • Value-Add
  • Development
    • Architecture
    • Construction
    • Conversion
    • Redevelopment
    • Sustainability
  • Capital Markets
    • Alternative Lending
    • Earnings
    • Economy
    • Foreign Investments
    • Private Credit
    • Private Equity
    • Public Markets
    • REITs
  • Technology
  • More
    • Features
    • Columnists
    • Research & Analysis
    • Legal
    • Players
    • Transportation
  • About
    • Membership
    • Advertise
    • Newsletters
    • Contact
    • Reprints

Read the latest edition of the Commercial Observer online!

July 28th 2020 Magazine Issue Cover
© 2025 Observer Media Terms Privacy Cookie Settings Do not sell my data Sitemap