That, however, wasn’t always the case. Potsdamer Platz is a large mixed-use development, with 270,000 sq m of retail, offices, and homes spread across 17 buildings. When Brookfield Properties started managing the estate in 2016 on behalf of Brookfield Asset Management, they took on an area that was steeped in history and home to some individually impressive outlets. Still, it lacked in providing Berliners with a genuinely distinct and engaging retail destination. Despite the rise of online shopping, a global pandemic, and inflation, Potsdamer Platz today has a 96% occupancy rate and some of the most exciting and innovative brands on the continent. What did Brookfield Properties do differently? The last two years have seen Brookfield Properties’ vision for the area come to fruition, with Potsdamer Platz recognized as a unique entertainment district that acts as a launch pad for bold new concepts and international brands. Take the Peek & Cloppenburg Conscious Fashion Store: It is one of the largest sustainable department stores in the world, raising the bar in Europe for ethical fashion.
Manifesto Market, the largest food hub in Germany and home to 22 high-quality restaurants with cuisines from around the world, is another good example. Brookfield Properties worked closely with Manifesto Market to curate a culinary experience incomparable to any other destination in the country, putting the area on the map for food lovers.
The retail offering also taps into contemporary culture and rising fandoms. An official NBA Store provides the largest and most impressive store for basketball fans in Europe – around 3 million Germans describe themselves as very interested in the sport. With the central European brand The Streets, which specializes in basketball and street clothing, set to open soon, Potsdamer Platz provides a physical hub for Europe’s rapidly growing basketball community. Like Manifesto Market, the area is responding to a demand that has not been met anywhere in the country until now.
Joyful experiences, or the “joyeconomy”, are also at the heart of the Potsdamer Platz revival. Take the cocktail chain The Alchemist, which opened recently: The bar brings flamboyance and fun to creating drinks that thrill its patrons. Lane7, which brings a party atmosphere to bowling, is also perfect for a lively evening. These two chains have swept through the UK, quickly establishing lively venues in the country’s main cities. They’ve now chosen Potsdamer Platz as their launch pad to expand in the mainland European market. They’ve been joined by Upside Down Museum, a Dutch company that creates wacky physical spaces for friends and family to take creative pictures. In just a few years, Potsdamer Platz has established itself as a niche location for internationally ambitious concepts to introduce themselves to the German market and the millions of tourists visiting Berlin annually.
The recent arrival of joyful brands to Potsdamer Platz brings a synergy between retail and entertainment venues in the area. Fun has always been part of the area’s DNA, which is home to a range of cinemas, a casino, and theatres. Potsdamer Platz is also home to Berlinale, one of the big five international film festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of movie lovers to the area.
Potsdamer Platz’s soaring status will be cemented at the end of this year as Mattel builds on its post-Barbie Movie success by opening its first physical European store. While Potsdamer Platz will constantly evolve and improve, this final retail opening will symbolize the complete transformation of the estate.
HOW DID POTSDAMER PLATZ GET TO THIS POINT?
When Brookfield Properties started managing Potsdamer Platz, the team crafted a bold vision to reimagine the iconic Berlin destination as a new urban center. The foundations were laid. Potsdamer Platz is the only property in Berlin that combines prime retail, office, and residential offerings with 5-star hospitality and exciting arts and entertainment. Redeveloping this culturally significant corner of Berlin was and is a considerable challenge.
Brookfield Properties’ vision for the estate focused on creating a contemporary, green, walkable retail destination. The company has invested €200 million in renovations, transforming the estate’s prime retail destination, formerly known as Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, now rebranded as The Playce.
Between January 2020 and September 2022, the existing shopping arcade on the upper floors was removed and replaced with a double height unit on the ground floor. The result – a stunning covered high street that provides a unique selection of unmissable retail and F&B experiences in the heart of Berlin. Not content with these improvements, Brookfield Properties took a holistic approach to improving the surrounding streets, ensuring that the Playce sits at the heart of a stunning retail destination.
Brookfield Properties worked closely with the City of Berlin to devise these plans, and in 2022, construction started to improve the public realm, eventually delivering extensive urban greening and interconnected pedestrianized roads and squares. These have been coupled with public art exhibitions, spearheaded by Brookfield Properties Curatorial Director Samantha Williams, which have enriched the area’s unique 90s architecture, designed by leaders in the field, including Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Hans Kolhoff.
Redevelopment and curation have been paired with the elevation of homegrown Berlin brands. Retail curation involves carefully balancing between tapping into global talent and ensuring locally loved brands have prominence and the platform to flourish. Brookfield Properties’ outreach to global brands has been coupled with an appreciation of the local providers that make Berliners tick. Food chains born in the capital, such as Burgermeister and Brammibal’s Donuts, have found a growing fanbase at Potsdamer Platz.
Much loved Italian ice cream maker Caffè e Gelato has been based in Potsdamer Platz since 1998. They are synonymous with the area and ice cream in the city. Upon acquiring the estate, Brookfield Properties strategically moved the store into a larger, more prominent area of Potsdamer Platz, increasing its visibility and footfall.Brookfield Properties also ensures that the estate maintains the highest quality sustainability credentials. In 2020, Potsdamer Platz joined GRESB benchmark reporting, which provides an in-depth analysis of the sustainability performance of an asset or company. When Brookfield Properties first acquired the asset, Potsdamer Platz started at 76 points and through continuous improvements, it scored an outstanding 89/100 in 2024.
THE RESULT
The development of Potsdamer Platz shows how joined up long-term thinking delivers tangible results. By delivering a fresh, covered high street, pedestrianizing and improving the public realm, urban greening, a curated series of engaging public art, and a highly selective approach to retail curation that recognizes the importance of delivering symbiotic spaces, Brookfield Properties has given Berlin a revitalized destination that is attracting global brands to the city.
Like no other German shopping center, “The Playce” at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin is a shopping and cultural destination that focuses on food and beverage, leisure, and retail stores that are new to Berlin or unique in their concepts. One and a half years after its opening, The Playce is now 96 percent leased. ACROSS discusses why now is the best time to be part of the project with Roger Goyk, Director of Retail Brookfield Properties, and Jonathan Doughty, Special Project Manager at ECE. Read the complete interview here.
