Brookfield Leases Quarter Of A Million Square Feet at One Liberty Plaza.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2002

Zurich North America Renews 207,000 Square Foot Lease and

Arch Insurance Company Signs New 45,000 Square Foot Lease

Brookfield Properties Corporation (NYSE:BPO) (TSX:BPO) today announced two lease agreements totaling more than 250,000 square feet at One Liberty Plaza in Lower Manhattan. In the first transaction, Zurich North America entered into a 10-year renewal encompassing 207,776 square feet on floors 21, 28, and 30-32. A tenant at One Liberty Plaza since 1991, Zurich North America is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the multinational, middle market and small business sectors in the United States and Canada.

In the second transaction, Arch Insurance Company has signed a new 10-year lease for 45,123 square feet on the top floor of One Liberty Plaza. Arch Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Arch Capital Group Ltd., a Bermuda based company with over $1.3 billion in equity capital which provides insurance and reinsurance on a worldwide basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries.

Governor George E. Pataki said, "The signing of these leases demonstrates how Lower Manhattan continues to recover and rebuild in the wake of the horrific events of September 11th. The partnership between State and City government, working with the private sector, ensured that the clean-up happened in record time, subways opened ahead of schedule, and business is back."

"These companies understand that with the tremendous investment that is being committed to transportation and infrastructure improvements downtown, Lower Manhattan is destined to be even better than before," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "I commend Zurich North America and Arch Insurance for their continued support of the rebuilding efforts."

"These transactions demonstrate the significance of Lower Manhattan's economic advantage as businesses capitalize on the substantial discount in downtown's rents," commented Ric Clark, President and CEO of Brookfield. "It also improves Brookfield's long-term occupancy and cashflow while underscoring our commitment to the future of Lower Manhattan."

Jeremiah Larkin, Senior Vice President and Director of Leasing, handled the transactions for Brookfield. John Cefaly and Augustus Field of Cushman & Wakefield and Joseph Priola of National Realty Advisors represented Zurich North America. Mark Ravesloot of Insignia/ESG represented Arch Insurance Company.

One Liberty Plaza is a 2.2 million square foot office building unique to the Lower Manhattan core. Prominently situated in the center of the financial district at Liberty Street and Broadway, this 54 story steel and glass tower is distinguished by an open plaza at its entrance, providing an unparalleled open view rarely found in the concentrated space of supply-constrained New York. Other major tenants include Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada. One Liberty Plaza was the first building on the perimeter of the former World Trade Center site to reopen five weeks following the attack.

Brookfield Properties Corporation, with a stock market value of US$9 billion in assets, owns, develops and manages premier North American office properties. The Brookfield portfolio includes 51 commercial properties and development sites totaling 45 million square feet and over 120 million square feet of space under management. Brookfield is inter-listed on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges under the symbol BPO. For more information, visit the Brookfield Properties website at www.brookfieldproperties.com.