Commercial real estate's leading owners and managers, and 550-plus of their supporters, gathered at Chelsea Piers, where BOMA/NY held its Oscar-style Pinnacle Awards ceremony honoring excellence in commercial building management across a wide range of categories. Ten awards were given out. All building awards are kept secret until the envelopes are opened on stage.
Vornado Realty Trust led the evening with three awards; Monday Properties took home two; Paramount Group, Inc., took home the Pinnacle in the Operating Office Building 500,000 -1 million s/f category for the third year in a row, and also for three years running, women dominated the Manager of the Year competition in the Over 10 Years of Experience category.
BOMA/NY president Thomas Hill paid tribute to each nominee for "their courage in taking a spot on the playing field of competition that inspires us to greater achievements as individuals, companies and as an industry." BOMA/NY executive director Roberta McGowan, CAE, was also recognized for the anniversary of her 25 years of service to the association. And the winners are:
• Outstanding Local Member of the Year: Louis Trimboli, RPA/FMA/LEED AP, CBRE. He has been honored by the Pope and the U.S. President, but Trimboli counts among his main accomplishments the work of BOMA/NY's preparedness committee, which he has co-chaired since 2006. Lou has guided the committee in numerous lessons learned and preparedness initiatives, most recently for Hurricane Sandy and the Super Bowl. His energy, enthusiasm and dedication have helped make the Preparedness Committee the gold standard for BOMA Associations nationwide.
• Historical Building: 230 Park Ave. Owned/managed by Monday Properties; manager: Josiah Brock. Developed by the N.Y. Central Railroad in 1928 as its headquarters, 230 Park Ave. is the 1.4 million s/f, 36-story tower that helped launch Park Ave. as New York's premiere corporate boulevard. This city and national historic landmark is now a landmark of progress—it is one of N.Y.C.'s first and oldest buildings to achieve Energy Star, BOMA 360 and LEED-EB Gold certifications, made possible by an eight-year, $100 million renovation. Management programs are state-of-the-art, including a preparedness app, innovative training programs, tenant relations that incorporates an appreciation of the building's past and a new, animated lighting scheme that has redefined community impact.
• New Construction: 4 World Trade Center owned/managed by Silverstein Properties, Inc.; manager: Alex Riveira. This shimmering giant has been long awaited by New York and the world, and with its sensitive, sustainable and above-code design, it has more than lived up to a decade of anticipation as the first tower to rise on the original 16-acre World Trade Center site. A symbol of all that New York does well, 4 World also provides a superior work environment, safety measures including a lobby equipped with blast proof glass, wider stairwells for evacuation and enough green features to achieve LEED-NC Gold certification.
• Earth: 2 Penn Plaza. Owner: Vornado Realty Trust; manager: Vornado Office Management LLC; property manager: Annie Leone. Rising 30 stories and set back from the broad open plaza that defines the 2 Penn Plaza site, this tower, built concurrently with Madison Sq. Garden, has outstripped many buildings in its class by achieving an Energy Star score of 84 (which it raised from 79), and LEED-EB OEM Silver certification. The management team works as a partner with tenants, assisting them to reduce energy usage through the Vornado Tenant Energy Portal. Overall, the team's attention to detail and its drive to maximize sustainability through technology have become the building's defining characteristics.
• Corporate Facility: 731 Lexington Ave. Owner: Vornado Realty Trust; manager: Vornado Office Management LLC; property manager: Bert Lok. Two structures joined by one of the most spectacular public courtyards in Midtown, 731 Lexington is composed of the nine-story East Tower, facing Third Avenue and the 57-story West Tower rising above Lexington Avenue. As the headquarters for Bloomberg LP, where adding value to the company is paramount, the management team follows suit, pursuing strong tenant relations while having mastered the tower's divergent elements and needs.
• Renovated Building: 1330 Avenue of the Americas. Owner: RXR 1330 owner LL; manager: RXR Property Management LLC; property manager: Dana Dinolfo, RPA/LEED ID+C. Owner RXR Realty skillfully repositioned this 40-story tower through a five-year renovation covering the building from its exterior to its inner workings. The management team fulfills ownership's vision through heightened professionalism across the board-from successfully completing retro-commissioning ahead of schedule to a building-wide energy audit. The repositioning plan implemented a myriad of technical details that are now evidenced on the bottom line through a high tenant retention rate and a number of new firms being welcomed to its prestigious tenant roster.
• Manager of the Year 3-10 Years: Brian Jauntig, RPA/LEED AP, Monday Properties. Jauntig leads the team that has provided service excellence to tenants at 1440 Broadway, where he has overseen a comprehensive and far-ranging renovation/repositioning that achieved LEED certification and attracted such prime tenants as Macy's, Conde Nast and Mizuho Capital Markets Corp. Mizuho's director of technology Wayne Schletter said, "We especially appreciate the constant flow of communication we receive, and the turnaround time on any and all requests is exceptional. Brian's personal touch is truly appreciated."
• Manager of the Year Over 10 Years of Experience: Joanne Porrazzo, RPA/FMA/LEED AP, Vornado Office Management, LLC. In 2006, Porrazzo was given the challenge of heading operations at the 1 million s/f 90 Park Ave., where she continues today, planning the tower's repositioning through a lobby and elevator modernization, and extensive mechanical upgrade. Her success at 90 Park continues to be noticed at Vornado headquarters—she will soon become manager of the 2.2 million s/f 1290 Avenue of the Americas, one of the firm's flagship properties.
• Operating Office Building 500,000 - 1 million s/f: 31 West 52nd St. Owner: 40 West 53rd Assoc. LTD; manager: Paramount Group; property general manager: Steven Griffith, RPA. At 31 West 52nd St., architect Kevin Roche created a tower with all the attendant detailing expected of a Post Modern corporate landmark. When Paramount Group, Inc. acquired the tower in 2007, it focused on infrastructure improvements and service excellence. After a multi-year effort to make its sustainability profile and operational standards as notable as its architecture, 31 West 52nd St. now boasts an Energy Star score of 89 and is LEED-EB O&M Silver certified—proof that beauty can also be highly functional.
• Operating Office Building Over 1 million s/f: 1185 Avenue of the Americas. Owner/manager: SL Green Realty; property manager: Adam Rosner, RPA. Today, renovated and repositioned as a multi-tenanted headquarters center, 1185 Avenue of the Americas is one of New York's newest Energy Star buildings, notable for its seamless blending of classic modernism with 21st Century sustainability. Infrastructure and operations are continually upgraded, and a premium is placed on tenant relations through the 1185 team's Red Carpet Service. With team members challenging themselves to be the best they can be--and then asking how they can be even better--1185's fifth decade of serving Avenue of the Americas is shaping up to be its most important yet.
The BOMA/NY Pinnacle Awards, the local round of BOMA International's TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the year), the most prestigious international award in real estate management, reward excellence in management on more than 100 judging criteria. Ten BOMA/NY Pinnacle winners have advanced to win BOMA International Awards since 2000. Tags: