Two prominent Chicago towers picked up hardware at the BOMA International Conference & Expo in Nashville. The historic Wrigley Building and Hyatt Center at 71 South Wacker Drive earned International “The Outstanding Building of the Year” (TOBY) Awards. Judging criteria includes community impact, tenant/employee relations programs, energy management systems, accessibility, emergency evacuation procedures, building personnel training programs and overall quality indicators.

The Wrigley Building, owned and managed by Zeller Realty Group and BDT Capital Partners, won a TOBY in the historical building category. The two-tower terra cotta center, built between 1920 and 1924, was Chicago's first office tower built north of the Chicago River and was the city's first air-conditioned building.

A few blocks west and south of the Wrigley Building, Hyatt Center at 71 South Wacker Drive earned a TOBY in the Earth building category. Although it was not originally built with sustainability in mind, the 49-story building, built in 2005, has evolved into one of downtown's greenest buildings. The building is owned by Irvine Co. and managed by JLL.

71 South Wacker features one of Chicago's largest green roofs at 17K SF. Raised turf landscaping provides a heat-island-effect-limiting green oasis along Monroe Street. 71 South Wacker has achieved LEED Platinum certification and re-certification and BOMA 360 designation, is an IREM Certified Sustainable Property, maintains an upward trending Energy Star rating, follows an evolving strategic sustainability plan, and participates in the inaugural group of buildings in Retrofit Chicago’s Commercial Buildings Initiative targeting a reduction of energy consumption by 20% over five years.