Brookfield Asset Management will invest $5 billion to help its retail tenants and other retailers reopen and set up successful, long-term operations for the post-COVID-19 marketplace. Brookfield also intends to share resources and expertise with the retailers in which it invests. The company manages $515 billion of assets across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power, private equity and credit.

The company, which owns 170 retail properties comprising 146 million square feet, is partnering with institutional investors to establish a Retail Revitalization Program. The program will focus on retail businesses in Brookfield’s core markets that have $250 million or greater in normalized revenue and have operated for at least two years. The fund will invest in retailers but will avoid taking controlling stakes.

Ron Bloom, managing partner and vice chairman of Brookfield’s private equity group, will lead the initiative. According to Brookfield, he served a principal role in the U.S. government’s 2008 restructuring of the automobile industry. “This initiative is being designed to assist medium-sized enterprises in getting back on their feet,” he said. “We believe this is a critical component to getting the economy moving again, and we would like to partner with companies and entrepreneurs that can draw on our capital and expertise to stabilize and grow their business.”