Former top Brookfield exec joins Columbia Property Trust

David Cheikin, the former head of Brookfield Property Partners’ New York and Boston offices, is joining Columbia Property Trust.

The real estate investment trust named Cheikin vice president of strategic real estate initiatives in its New York office. In his new position, Cheikin will oversee Columbia’s national real estate portfolio, focusing directly on its properties in New York, Washington D.C. and Boston.

Cheikin left Brookfield in March, after nearly 16 years with the company, Commercial Observer reported at the time. He most recently served as executive vice president and head of Brookfield’s New York and Boston offices. In that role, he oversaw the companies 25 million-square-foot office portfolio.

Columbia, based in Georgia, owns and operates office buildings primarily in New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. This includes 218 West 18th Street and 315 Park Avenue South in New York. Adam Popper, who was in charge of investments and asset management in the eastern U.S. at Columbia, left the company in February. The firm’s CEO Nelson Mills said at the time that the company would fill one or two positions in New York in the near term.