BOMA NY: Excellence defined. What sets our 2025 Pinnacle Award nominees apart - by Patrick Dolan

Each September, BOMA New York celebrates the pinnacle of commercial real estate excellence through our prestigious Pinnacle Awards, recognizing the premier buildings and professionals that exemplify the spirit of our great city. As we approach our 53^rd Annual Pinnacle Awards ceremony on September 25^-th at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers, the attributes that distinguish our 2025 nominees reflect the transformative industry trends we’ve championed throughout the year, from sustainability to hospitality-driven tenant experiences. 

The competition for these coveted prizes remains both fair and fierce, involving a comprehensive nomination and submission process that has increasingly come to symbolize what we do best for our tenants, clients, and New York City. This year’s nominees stand apart through their exceptional integration of the key innovations that have defined commercial real estate in 2025, demonstrating how forward-thinking building management creates measurable value. 

Leadership in sustainability continues to be a defining characteristic among our standout nominees. Throughout 2025, we’ve witnessed BOMA New York members implement green building certifications such as LEED, Energy Star, and WELL, while deploying innovative practices like demand-controlled ventilation, high-performance glazing, and energy recovery systems to meet Local Law 97’s carbon emission reduction targets. Our Pinnacle nominees exemplify this commitment, demonstrating that environmental responsibility and business success work hand in hand, creating resilient, efficient properties that remain competitive for years to come.

Creating a hospitable environment has also redefined tenant experience among our leading nominees. The shift toward hospitality-driven service delivery extends far beyond traditional amenities, representing a reimagining of commercial properties as hospitality destinations. Our standout buildings demonstrate how third-party amenity operators and dedicated hospitality teams create engaging, responsive work environments that prioritize tenant experience through data-driven decision making and strategic space activation.  

The emphasis on professional development and education also resonates strongly among our nominees, reflecting the industry’s recognition that investing in human capital drives operational excellence. With our ‘Emerging Leader’ category, we recognize a young professional who is dedicated to continuous learning, achieving professional certifications, mentorship, and demonstrating how this investment of time not only creates value for the emerging leader, but also for their tenants, colleagues and building owners through innovation and collaboration. 

Our nominees also exemplify the importance of community building and in-person collaboration that we’ve advocated for throughout 2025. The most successful properties and people recognize that face-to-face interactions remain fundamental to building authentic relationships and professional growth, creating environments where tenants can engage in real-time conversations, exchange ideas, and collaborate in ways that virtual settings cannot replicate.  

All local Pinnacle Award winning buildings can enter the national TOBY competition, first at the regional level covering 13 locales from Boston to Washington D.C., with regional winners going on to compete internationally. With so many of our members having won International and regional TOBYs, we have established an extraordinary track record of success, making New York City the standard of excellence for our industry. 

As we prepare to honor this year’s exceptional nominees, their achievements reflect individual excellence as well as the collective advancement of our industry. Through our mentoring program and peer review process, BOMA New York continues to help colleagues complete the awards process successfully and represent New York on the global stage, ensuring our continued position at the forefront of commercial real estate innovation and excellence. 

Patrick Dolan, RPA, is chairman of BOMA New York.