Three BOMA NY members win Regional TOBY Award

NEW YORK, NY The Mid-Atlantic Region (MAC) of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International recently awarded 13 winners of The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award at the regional competition. Three out of the thirteen winners are members of BOMA New York and include Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th St. owned by RXR Realty Group for the Earth category; SL Green Realty’s 635-641 Avenue of the Americas for Renovated Building of the Year; as well as SL Green Realty’s 810 Seventh Ave. for Operating Office Building of the Year in 500,000-1,000,000 s/f category.  

About the Winners 

The Starrett-Lehigh Building is 2.3 million s/f and one of the city’s largest landmark properties with a history of attracting world-class creative companies and elite brands. Officially declared a NYC landmark in 1986, it was earlier included in the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture in 1932 by the Museum of Modern Art. In 2011, the Starrett-Lehigh Building and its tenants began a multi-year, $50 million repositioning program including a BMS that monitors the cooling towers, condenser water pumps, HVAC air handlers, boilers and equipment, LED fixtures in all common areas and back of house mechanical rooms, a modern system which averages indoor/outdoor temperature in order to maximize heating ability, and a rooftop garden and apiary – supported by tenants who receive monthly vegetable produce. More info about the building can be found at: www.starrett-lehigh.com/the-building/about-starrett-lehigh/.

810 Seventh Ave. is situated between the prime locations of Times Sq., the Plaza District, Columbus Circle and Central Park. The neighborhood is second to none for amenities, with everything from parks to the very best in retail and dining and is easily accessible to nine subway lines and six bus lines. 810 Seventh Ave. also boasts features such as a sleek new lobby, tower floors that accommodate six corner offices, highly efficient side core floor plates for flexible layouts, a 200 on-site parking garage and recently modernized elevators, corridors and bathrooms. Additionally, the building is Wired Certified Platinum, and there is on-site catering and a conference center available through Convene. 

635-641 Avenue of the Americas is conveniently located in Chelsea between 19th and 20th Sts. Once home to the Simpson Crawford Department Store, the buildings have recently been redeveloped into a class A office building featuring a brand-new lobby, elevators, building systems and a penthouse rooftop that highlights a bocce court and event space.  

About the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and the TOBY Awards

BOMA International was founded in 1907 and is a federation of 88 BOMA U.S. associations and 18 international affiliates. BOMA International is a primary source of information on building management and operations, development, leasing, building operating costs, energy consumption patterns, local and national building codes, legislation, occupancy statistics, technological developments and other industry trends.

TOBY Awards were established by BOMA International in 1985 to honor and recognize the quality in office building operations, tenant retention, emergency planning and community impact, and award excellence in office building management. 

The competition consists of three levels. The competition begins at the local association level, and the winners are encouraged to enter the regional competition. The regional winners automatically advance to the international competition.  The International winners will be announced at the BOMA International Conference & Expo which will be held from June 23-26 in San Antonio, Texas.