Inside Brookfield Properties’ New Flex Office Hub

JLL has landed the management deal for Brookfield Properties’ newest flexible office campus in Downtown Brooklyn. Called Orchard Workspace at 15 MetroTech Center, the property is 50,000-square-fott flexible office and meeting campus targeting mature and start-up companies. JLL has worked on the property from top to bottom, including design and construction, and it will now take on operations as well.

The pandemic has disrupted the office market, and New York City has been the epicenter of the damage—with a near stall in office leasing activity and investment. However, many companies, including Brookfield, are forecasting increased demand for flexible office space has companies adopt a hybrid remote work and in-person working model following the pandemic. This particular campus will be able to accommodate everything from meeting spaces, spinout space for startups and small companies as well as companies in need of satellite offices. Scheduled to open in spring 2021, it will help to supply that demand and gives Brookfield confidence in the success of the property.

The property is also easily accessible, near 13 subway lines as well as 3.5-acres public outdoor park space and Brookfield plans to provide year-round programming focused on art. Companies utilizing Orchard Workspace will also be in good company. The greater property MetroTech Center is home to an impressive roster of tenants that includes Slate, Magellan Health, Think! Architecture and Design, Uniworld Group, Stratasys and JPMorgan Chase.

Designed with a wide-range of amenities, Brookfield and JLL are also responding to market changes catalyzed by the pandemic. For example, it is installing state-of-the-art UV air purifiers, plants and mobile dividers to create physical separation in open work environments. It will also have workspace buffering, signage, hand sanitation stations and space-use policies to help ensure safety during the pandemic and beyond.

Brookfield isn’t the only voice advocating for the future of flexible office space. A recent report from Colliers International made the case for increased demand in the office segment. In fact, it predicted that flexible office space would double or triple in size over the next five years. There are many drivers behind the surge in flexible office space, including corporate demand; growing in secondary and tertiary markets; new operating models, including revenue partnerships between flex space operators and managers; the flex space vendor economy, which has lowered the barrier-to-entry for new operators; the entry of traditional landlords providing flexible spaces; and the emergence of niche operators who specialize in spaces for artists, engineers, women or other working groups, are also driving growth in the market.