Last Night's TOBY Awards!

Perhaps the only place with stiffer competition than the upcoming presidential election was the 30th annual International TOBY Awards last night at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, DC, which closed the BOMA International Conference & Expo. (And it included fewer political barbs, as well.) Out of 84 buildings, only 15 took home the coveted honor bestowed upon a building’s operational team.

One of the most anticipated awards was in the 1M+ SF category, which this year went to Chicago’s AMA Plaza, managed by Riverview Realty Property Management. The LEED-Gold, 1.5M SF multi-tenant tower is a Windy City landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by renowned architect Mies van der Rohe, it houses tech tenants and a 318-room hotel.

Earlier this year, Bisnow spoke with Riverview president and CEO Jeff Patterson and general manager Susan Hammer to find out four things office buildings must do to stay ahead of the competition, and they shared some of their secrets from AMA Plaza.

The other size-specific TOBY Award winners:

• 500,000-1M SF: BG Group Place, Houston (Management: Hines; Owner: BG Holdco)
• 250,000-499,999 SF: 700 Sixth St, DC (Management: Akridge; Owner: USAA)
• 100,000-249,999 SF: 200 Ashford Center North, Atlanta (Management & Owner: Parmenter)
• Under 100,000 SF: 564 West Randolph, Chicago (Management: Sterling Bay; Owner: 564 West Randolph LLC)

Each award was presented by Capstone Property Management president Kent Gibson, BOMA Fellow (left, also BOMA International’s outgoing chair), The Home Depot Pro’s Earl Madison (second from right, in the retailer’s telltale orange) and Parmenter Realty Partners’ Steve Harrison, BOMA Fellow (far right). The evening’s emcees were former BOMA chairs Jim Peck, BOMA Fellow (2009-2010) and Rich Greninger (2013-2014).

Hines went for a twofer in Houston, nabbing the Earth TOBY for its managed 717 Texas, owned by Block 59 LP. The 33-story, granite and glass office tower features 11 levels of integrated parking, 10k SF of street-level retail space and floor-to-ceiling windows for unobstructed views in all directions. Its green practices include secured bicycle parking with showers and locker rooms, electric car-charging stations and direction regional transportation access.

The other specialty TOBY Award winners:

• Corporate Facility: Oracle Headquarters, Redwood City, CA (Management & Owner: Oracle America)
• Government Building: 1500 Jefferson Building, Olympia, WA (Management: Wright Runstad & Co; Owner: FYI Properties)
• Renovated Building: Park Place Irvine, Irvine, CA (Management: LBA Realty; Owners: A JV between LBA and Principal Real Estate Investors)
• Retail: CF Polo Park Shopping Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Management: Cadillac Fairview; Owner: Ontrea)

For the second year in a row, Kilroy Realty nabbed a TOBY for a suburban office park. This year, it was for the Mid-Rise category, which went to Kilroy Airport Center Long Beach in Long Beach, CA. The property is on 50 acres and includes a variety of tenant-rich amenities, including an on-site café, a full-service fitness center and a car wash. The seven buildings were built in three phases and total 1M SF.

The other office-related TOBY Award winners:

• Suburban Office Park Low-Rise: Stoneridge Corporate Plaza, Pleasanton, CA (Management: Next Play Consulting; Owner: NPC Holdings)
• Industrial Office Building: Freeport X, Coppell, TX (Management & Owner: Duke Realty)
• Medical Office Building: TRIA Orthopaedic Center, Bloomington, MN (Management: Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq; Owner: United Properties Investment)

Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq also won another award for a managed asset in Minnesota, the 10-story, 270k SF Ford Center in Minneapolis, once an underutilized studio and warehouse in a neglected area of the city’s downtown. With the help of historic tax credits, the owner finished a $42M renovation in 2012 and achieved LEED Gold certification.

Congratulations to all the honorees!

Next year's TOBY Awards are bound to get even more exciting, now that the award’s global reach is expanding. JLL's Peter Merrett, the awards' second vice chair and a former TOBY winner himself with London’s Tower 42, reports that the TOBY nomination package has been translated into Mandarin, Japanese and Russian, while the program will be bringing on international judges to determine next year's winners.

Peter joined BOMA Fellows Steve Harrison and Transwestern’s Karrie McCampbell as TOBY Awards leaders this year. This year also marked the last for Steve's participation as chair, and Karrie will move up to his position in 2017 after they bring on a member from BOMA/Newfoundland and Labrador for the first vice chair position.