Schaumburg, April 3, 2017… The North Central Region of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International recently announced the Regional level winners of The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award competition. BOMA/Suburban Chicago is proud to announce that two of their member buildings have won the Regional TOBY Award. 

Windy Point II has been named the 2017 Regional TOBY Award winner for the 250,000-499,999 Square Feet Category. Windy Point II, located in Schaumburg, IL, is managed and owned by Piedmont Office Realty Trust. 

Back row:
Juan Morales, Day Porter
Art Ramsay, Chief Building Engineer
David Badame, Building Engineer
Douglas Ahlgrim, Building Engineer
Christopher J. Schmitt, Property Manager
Wayne Tyler, Security Supervisor

Front Row:
Shivani Desai, Customer Service Coordinator
Cheryl Dobbins, Senior Property Manager

Arboretum Lakes has been named the 2017 Regional TOBY Award winner for the Suburban Office Park, Mid-Rise Category. Arboretum Lakes, located in Lisle, IL, is managed and owned by Millbrook Properties. 

Back row:
Rick Barnett, Director of Engineering
Javier Rosado, Building Engineer
Dan Ryan, General Manager
Tim Julian, Building Engineer
Keith Wilburn, Assistant Chief Engineer
Brian Bueschel, Building Engineer

Front Row:
Karen Boyd, Assistant General Manager
Jonathan Bernstein, Tenant Service Coordinator
Not pictured: Mary Rakowski, Property Administrator

The TOBY Awards is the most prestigious and comprehensive program of its kind in the commercial real estate industry, recognizing excellence in office buildings management and operations in specific categories of building size or type. To win the regional award, the office buildings first won at the local competition level.

Regional winners will now proceed to the International competition where winners will be announced live on June 27 at the TOBY reception and banquet at the BOMA International 2017 Conference and EXPO in Nashville, TN.

We have urgent information about proposed Senate Bill 9, currently being considered in the Illinois legislature.  

• This bill contains an amendment that would impose a 6.25% service tax on all landscaping, snow removal services, and potentially other contracted building services.
• This encompasses all types of landscaping services - tree care, lawn care, maintenance, design-build, and snow removal.
• The increased tax on landscaping companies will likely be passed along to property owners and managers.
• It is estimated that this bill could result in increased costs of 3-5 cents per square foot of a commercial building. 

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: BOMA/Suburban Chicago's Government Affairs Committee is actively working to oppose this legislation. As part of that effort, we are asking you to contact both your state senator and state representative and tell them you oppose the service tax on landscaping and snow removal services. If you do not know your state legislator, please look him/her up by zip code and address using the link below. 

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR!

Below is a sample email text for your use...

Dear _____________,

I am a property owner/manager/facility manager of a commercial __________ building in the Chicago suburban area. Senate Bill 9 will be a huge detriment to my property's operating budget! I do not support this legislation and request that you vote against it.

Thank you,

________ (your name)

More information about Senate Bill 9

If passed, this Bill could affect many types of services, including repair, cleaning, painting, towing, and pest control services. Many of the services in the Bill are represented by BOMA Associate members and, of course, they are services needed by Regular members. The proposed tax on these services would greatly impact Regular members and Associate members alike. Read more about how Senate Bill 9 Impacts BOMA Members.