TOBY Award

Categories

2024 categories - Click category heading to access Guidebook

1. Office Building Categories by Square Feet:

• Under 100,000 sf * (at least 50% office area)
• 100,000 - 249,999 sf  * (at least 50% office area)
• 250,000 - 499,999 sf * (at least 50% office area)
• 500,000 - 1 Million sf * (at least 50% office area)
• Over 1 Million sf  * (at least 50% office area)

2. Renovated Building

• Must be at least 15 years old, have maintained a minimum of 50% occupancy during the renovation for all buildings, and three or more projects must be completed in each building when submitting multiple buildings. If entry is a single building, a minimum of five projects is necessary.
  Renovation can encompass:
  - Rehabilitation  (the restoration of a property to satisfactory condition without changing the plan, form, or style of a structure);
  - Modernization (taking corrective measures to bring a property into conformity with changes in style, whether exterior or interior. Requires replacing parts of the structure or mechanical equipment with modern replacements of the same kind but not including capital additions); and
  - Remodeling (changing the plan, form or style of a structure to correct functional or economic deficiencies).
• A minimum of five of the following work projects must be completed by February 2024 and the building must enter the TOBY program within five years following substantial completion of the last renovation projects:
• • New roof, re-roof, or green roof;
  • New boilers/HVAC system/Central Plant;
  • Cleaning/Painting/New design of building envelope;
  • New electrical system;
  • New fire panel/sprinkler system;
  • Modernization of elevators which can include mechanicals, code compliance and interior cabs refurbishment;
  • New security systems can include card access, cameras, console, fire panel, etc.;
  • Renovation of main lobby that includes three or more of the following: floors, walls, entry doors, signage, security desk, etc.;
  • Renovation of restrooms that includes four or more of the following: sinks, counter tops, toilets, urinals, floors, walls, lighting, faucets, flushometers, partitions, etc.;
  • Installation of new windows.

3. Life Science Building *NEW* (Must be at least 50% leased and occupied by life science tenants with a minimum of 30% lab rentable square footage area. Life Science tenants shall be defined as tenants specializing in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, cell biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, or agricultural technology. 

3.  Corporate Facility (Must be single-use facility at least 50% occupied by the corporate entity - includes government agencies and private enterprises). 

4.  Historical Building (Must be at least 50 years old with original design maintained. All sizes of buildings. The building must retain its historical physical integrity, which means the site must be relatively undisturbed. Renovations to the original framework is acceptable)

5.  Medical Office Building (Must be at least 75% medical use, and at least 50% of the dedicated medical use space must be for private physician or hospital employed physician offices. The building can be located on or off a hospital campus, and its tenancy can be comprised of 50% hospital uses or ancillary services (such as imaging, physical therapy, rehab clinics, prosthetics, pharmacy clinics and the like) provided by the hospital, including employed or aligned physician offices, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical labs (such as catheterization). Patient stays must be less than 24 hours) 

6. Suburban Office Park categories:

• Low-Rise (Two or more buildings managed by the same management company; the tallest building being no higher than five stories; all buildings must occupy land greater than five acres and are located outside of the central business district or the downtown core area)
• Mid-Rise (Two or more buildings managed by the same management company; with one building that is six to ten stories in height; all buildings must occupy land greater than five acres and are located outside of the central business district or the downtown core area)

Note: If a suburban office park is comprised of both low and mid-rise buildings, the park must enter in the mid-rise category.

7. Industrial Office Buildings (All buildings, comprising a total project, to include any single building industrial properties, one to two stories in height, with more than 5% and less than 50% office area. Building(s) must have a loading dock, roll-up or sliding rear door(s) for loading, with no common lobby or corridors except for restroom vestibules and utility or fire equipment access)

8. Retail Categories:

• Enclosed Shopping Centre (A group of retail and other commercial establishments, either enclosed or open air, managed by one company. The entry must be managed as a single property, one to multiple levels in height with a minimum of 50% occupancy. The anchor ratio must be at least 25 per cent and the property must contain at least one anchor retailer (grocery, fashion, department store, etc.).

The entry may consist of Neighborhood Centres (30,000-150,000 sf); Community Centres (100,000-400,000 sf); Power Centres (250,000-600,000 sf); Regional Shopping Centres (400,000-800,000 sf); or Super Regional Shopping Centres (800,000 plus sf). No minimum office area is required.

• Retail: Open Air / Strip Mall
• Retail - Enclosed Under 1 million s.f.
• Retail - Enclosed Over 1 million s.f.

9. Public Assembly (All buildings must be publicly accessible and support multiple uses. The multiple use character of these buildings may influence the buildings utility use, opening hours and tenant or occupant relations. These buildings may be part of a larger portfolio. This category includes: stand-alone arenas, amphitheaters, auditoriums, art galleries, churches, hotels, convention centers, exhibit halls, courthouses, stadiums, university building(s) and other buildings that are publicly accessible. This category allows for entry restrictions based on ticketed or multi-tenant/occupant areas)

10. Mixed Use (Must have a minimum of 10% office space of total square footage of entire complex. Must have at least three components that are a mix of Retail, Entertainment, Residential, Hotel or Recreation. Transit hubs are acceptable if the property manages it. Each component must be at a minimum of 10% of the total property. The property can be one or more buildings managed by the same company. It is pedestrian-oriented and contains elements of a live-work-play environment. It maximizes space usage, has amenities and architectural features that tends to mitigate traffic and sprawl)

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a TOBY award:

• Buildings must be owned or managed by an entity that is a member of BOMA International. It costs $140/year for membership. View details here.
• The building must be owned or managed by a BOMA BC member.
• The building must be occupied for at least one full year from the date of occupancy of the first tenant by February 2024, with a minimum of 12 months of building operations.
• At least 50% of a building's space must be used as office space to be considered for all categories except the Industrial, Mixed Use and Retail categories. Industrial must have more than 5% and less than 50% office area.
• All categories must be at least 50% occupied.
• Each building may enter in only one category.
• An entrant may choose whether to enter multiple buildings as a single entry or as multiple entries only if the buildings are owned and managed by the same company, and the buildings are managed as a single entity and not within a suburban office park. All entries must disclose on their application if their entry is for a single or multiple buildings.
• A building must score at least 70% to be considered a finalist.
• If there is a change in management/ownership, the award will be presented to the management company/owner at the time of the original entry.
• All Office Category entrants are required to provide:
  • a copy of the Statement of Energy Performance generated from ENERGY STAR and/or Official Letter from EPA of ENERGY STAR Certificate of Achievements received within the past 24 months. 
  • OR share date with BOMA International in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (INTERNATIONAL LEVEL ONLY)
  • An entry that does not include both of the above with not be eligible to compete at the International level.

Building Inspection

BOMA acknowledges that onsite building inspections may be impacted. Judges have been given the option to conduct onsite or virtual inspections, or a combination. 


National Eligibility Requirement:

• To compete in BOMA Canada's national awards, the building must be BOMA 360 Certified.

How To Enter

Application fees:
1. Application fee: $500
2. BOMA International's $50 portal usage fee (collected online)
3. BOMA International membership is required for access to the TOBY portal. A membership fee of $140.00 will be required. Please contact Kiomi Lutz to register for membership if you aren’t already a BOMA International Member.

All fees are non-refundable.

Awards Submission deadline: March 15, 2024

Access to the TOBY Portal will be available starting February 15, 2024. It is recommended to begin your application in a word document prior to portal access. Instructions for accessing the online awards portal will be emailed to you after BOMA receives your initial application form.

*By submitting photos you consent to BOMA BC using the photos for various means potentially unrelated to the Awards Program (i.e. in the newsletter, marketing materials, on the website). If you do not give permission, please send an email to BOMA’s Events & Member Services Manager Kiomi Lutz.

Read the 'Helpful Hints 2024' brochure for more information.

Application form (must be completed to gain access to the online awards portal)

Past Winners

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