Brookfield Properties has announced eight new leases in the dinning terrace that will offer a variety of fancier-than-fast-food quick dining options.
The high-end food court is just one part of the company’s $250 million overhaul of the retail component of the 8 million s/f downtown office complex.
“The dining terrace will serve as both an amenity to office tenants and area residents, as well as destination dining for New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe,” Ed Hogan, national director of retail leasing for Brookfield Office Properties, said in a statement.
“We have hand-picked these chefs from across the country to create an assemblage of best-in-class concepts showcasing the top fast-casual cuisine New York City has to offer. It will quickly become a favorite dining spot for the office workers, downtown residents and tourists who want speedy and easy service, but also demand quality and creativity.”
The committed tenants are: Chop’t Creative Salad Company; Dig Inn Seasonal Market, which gets its ingredients from regional farms; the San Francisco Mexican import Dos Toros; grilled cheese from Little Muenster; Num Pang, a Cambodian sandwich shop; Skinny Pizza; Sprinkle Cupcakes and the LA-based Umami Burger, recently named “Burger of the Year” by GQ magazine.
The renovations are scheduled to be completed in 2014, and include an expanded retail and fashion corridor as well a new gourmet food marketplace.
The east entrance to the Winter Garden is also being redesigned to facilitate access to the underground pedestrian tunnel that will connect Brookfield Place with the future World Trade Center Transportation Hub and Fulton Street Transit Center.
Brookfield recently announced that it would rename the World Financial Center as Brookfield Place, in keeping with the company’s other properties by the same name in Toronto and Perth. The change, according to the announcement, reflects “the changing demographics of Lower Manhattan,” which is attracting creative, media and residential tenants who are challenging its recent history as a predominantly financial neighborhood.
The dining terrace at Brookfield Place is currently under construction and is on schedule to open in early 2014.
While each eatery will operate its own service space, Brookfield has partnered with AvroKO and BCV Architects to design the terrace with premier finishes and elegant seating throughout to create “a uniform, upscale vibe fitting of the location and clientele.”
