Colorado Real Estate Journal - September 16, 2015
"And the International TOBY Award goes to … ” There is nothing more exciting than the building you manage winning an International TOBY Award. The BOMA Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award is the highest honor the commercial real estate industry can bestow on a building and its property managers and owners. Buildings may be entered in one of 15 categories. Five categories are based upon square footage, two are for suburban office parks, and one each for renovated, historical, corporate facility, medical, government, retail and industrial office park buildings. There is only one Earth Award. The road to the International TOBY Awards begins at the local level. A team of two experienced property managers and a chief building engineer tour the buildings entered, review information about the building and then each assigns scores – in several categories – independently of the others. A building must score a minimum number of points to be eligible, and then must have the most points of all entries in its category to win the local TOBY. Local award winners are eligible to enter the regional competition. Denver is part of the Midwest Northern region of BOMA International, which includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Entries are submitted electronically at the regional level. The regional competition is based upon the same criteria as for the local competition except the building is rated on a portfolio of information and photographs rather than a physical inspection. The Midwest Northern online regional judging will be held in March. When a building wins a regional honor, it goes on to compete for the highest honor at the international level. The criteria are the same as regional, and the winners are determined by a panel of international judges. Regional winners in each category are acknowledged at the awards dinner at which over 1,000 people attend. International winners from each building category are presented with the most prestigious award in the industry – the International TOBY Award. This year’s local Denver metro winners will be announced at a black tie gala at the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Performing Arts Complex on Friday, Nov. 6. Next year’s international winners will be announced at the annual BOMA International Conference June 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Those who have entered this year’s competition could already be on the road to D.C.