The 2023 The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards took property professionals back to the Jazz Age. Channeling the Roaring ‘20s theme, property professionals snapped photos in front of an Art Deco backdrop and mingled with friends old and new.
Master of ceremonies Jeff Civillico, an award-winning Las Vegas headliner, corporate entertainer and philanthropist, welcomed guests to commercial real estate’s biggest night of the year. Civillico’s fast-paced, interactive entertainment mesmerized the crowd as he skillfully juggled pins and, at one point, a bowling ball, apple and meat cleaver—at the same time.
The fun didn’t stop there. Attendees cheered for the winners in 13 categories, chosen from 65 buildings from three countries and six U.S. regions.
The Winners
The award for Over 1 Million Square Feet went to One South Wacker in Chicago, managed by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas (Illinois), LP, and owned by 601W Companies.
Located at the nexus of Chicago’s West Loop submarket, One South Wacker’s prominent continuous glass curtainwall creates four rooftop decks and six atriums, as well as unique intra-floor connectivity and design. A significant repositioning program included exchanging 5,118 windows to a higher light transmittance without sacrificing energy use. Energy improvements, including automation upgrades and monitoring, lighting retrofits, and vacant space energy improvements produced energy savings of 1.5 million kWh. The building has achieved a LEED EB O+M Gold certification and a WELL Health-Safety Rating and increased occupancy by over 25% in one year.
Other winners by size were:
- 500,000-1 Million Square Feet: U.S. Bancorp Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, owned and managed by Piedmont Office Realty Trust.
- 250,000-499,000 Square Feet: HSBC Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, managed by Epic Investment Services and owned by Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).
- 100,000-249,999 Square Feet: Airport Tower, Irvine, California, managed by The Muller Company and owned by OC Airport Owner, LLC.
- Under 100,000 Square Feet: 85 Hanna Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, managed by First Capital Reit Management Services LP and owned by First Capital Reit.
The following buildings also won a BOMA International TOBY Award:
- Corporate Facility: North York Square, New York, Ontario, Canada, managed by Crown Property Management, Inc., and owned by Crown Realty III Limited Partnership.
- Earth: 25 York Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, managed by Menkes Property Management Services Ltd. and owned by Menkes Union Tower Inc.
- Historical: Bay Area Metro Center, San Francisco, California, managed by Cushman & Wakefield and owned by Bay Area Headquarters Authority.
- Industrial: Kennedy Matheson Industrial Complex, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, managed by Menkes Property Management Services Ltd. and owned by 3883281 Canada Inc.
- Mixed Use: Chapultepec Uno R509, Mexico City, Mexico, managed by SERVIFE Real Estate Management and owned by Administradora R-509 AC.
- Renovated: Yonge Sheppard Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, managed by RioCan Management Inc. and owned by RC Sheppard Centre LP (RioCan REIT).
- Suburban Office Park Low-Rise: Northpoint Center, Lake Mary, Florida, managed by CP Group and owned by NP Owner LLC.
- Suburban Office Park Mid-Rise: 2275 Upper Middle Road East, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, managed by Fengate Property Management, Ltd., and owned by 2275 Upper Middle Nominee Inc.
New this year, the BOMA 360 designation is required to compete starting at the regional level. Third-party validation via BOMA 360 confirms that properties are “running at the highest level from an operations standpoint,” explained Civillico.
Welcome Back to Philly. This is the Remix.
Philadelphia was poised to host the international conference in 2020—and, of course, was forced to cancel as the pandemic struck. But, as BOMA/Philadelphia 2024 host committee co-chair Deanna Ballinger pointed out, “That means now we’re ready to take it to the next level.”
The 2024 conference will be “packed with top-notch industry education, exciting surprises, special guests, next-level networking, and opportunities to make memories that will last a lifetime,” Ballinger said. BOMA 2024 is set for July 13-16.
“BOMA/Kansas City, you sure have given us some Andy Reid-sized shoes to fill next year, but we’re going to do our best,” said co-chair Keli Wallace, invoking the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. “We can’t wait to welcome you all to Philadelphia!”
