TOBY Awards
NOMINATIONS CLOSED FOR 2024
WINNERS
at BOMA Greater Dallas TOBY Awards will automatically go on to compete at the
BOMA Southwest Region TOBY Awards.
WINNERS
at BOMA Southwest Region TOBY Awards will automatically go on to compete at the
BOMA International TOBY Awards.
TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year) Award Categories:
(See below for descriptions, details, and nomination information)
USE BASED CATEGORIES:
- Corporate Facility.
- Earth.
- Historical Building.
- Industrial Building.
- Life Science Building.
- Medical Building.
- Mixed-Use Building.
- Renovated Building.
- Retail.
- Suburban Office Park Low-Rise.
- Suburban Office Park Mid-Rise.
SQUARE FOOT CATEGORIES:
- Under 100,00 Square Feet.
- 100,000 - 249,999 Square Feet.
- 250,000 - 499,999 Square Feet.
- 500,000 - 1 Million Square Feet.
- Over 1 Million Square Feet.
General Rules Governing TOBY Awards:
- BOMA 360 is required of all nominations. May be done concurrently with the nominations as long as it is completed and awarded prior to the Southwest Region entry submittal date.
- BOMA Best is highly recommended for all nominations. May be done concurrently with the nominations but is not a requirement.
- All judges will sign Conflicts of Interest form.
- Judges cannot judge their own building or company building.
USE BASED CATEGORIES
Corporate Facility
All buildings must be a single-use facility at least 50% occupied by the corporate entity—includes government agencies and private enterprises.
Earth
All Office buildings where the building ownership and building management team preserve and enhance the internal and external environment through green and sustainable programs.
Office buildings present a significant impact on the environment and the many convergent communities inside and outside the space. This award is given to those office buildings that best demonstrate successful application of a wide range of environmental sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) practices and policies that identify, measure, mitigate and communicate these impacts.
Historical Office Building
All buildings must be at least 50 years old with original design maintained. This category includes all sizes of buildings meeting the age criterion. The building must retain its historic physical integrity, which means the site must be relatively undisturbed. Renovations to the original framework is acceptable.
Industrial Office Building
All buildings, comprising a total project, to include any single building industrial properties, one to two stories in height, with less than 50% office area. Building(s) must have a loading dock, roll-up or sliding door(s) for loading, with no common lobby or corridors except for restroom vestibules and utility or fire equipment access.
Life Science Building
One or more buildings managed by the same management company. The single building and/or campus 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 those tenants specializing in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, cell biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, and agricultural technology.
Medical Building
All buildings must be at least 75% related to medical use. This includes areas for physicians, their staff, and patient care. Additional uses may include ambulatory surgery centers, clinical labs (such as catheterization labs), imaging, physical therapy, rehabilitation clinics, prosthetics centers, and pharmacies. The building can be located on or off a hospital campus or within a research area. Patient stays must be less than 24 hours (but could occur within any 24-hour period).
Mixed Use Building
All properties will have minimum of 10% Office in a planned integration of at least three components that are a mix of Retail, Entertainment, Residential, Hotel, Recreation or Other Functions.
Each component will 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.
When a building fits a different TOBY category, it should be entered in that category.
Renovated Building
All Building(s) must be at least 15 years old, have maintained a minimum of 50% occupancy (physical occupancy) during the renovation process for all building(s) and 3 or more projects must be completed in each building when submitting multiple buildings. If entry is a single building, a minimum of 5 projects are 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. It 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).
In order to be eligible, a minimum of five of the following work projects must be completed prior to the BOMA Greater Dallas TOBY Awards entry deadline and the building must enter the TOBY program within 5 years following substantial completion of the last renovation projects to be eligible for this category.
- New roof, re-roof or green roof.
- New boilers/HVAC /Central Plant.
- Cleaning/Painting/New design of existing building envelope.
- New electrical system: HVAC, Lighting, mechanical room upgrades/updates, etc..
- New fire panel/sprinkler system.
- Modernization of elevators which can include mechanicals, ADA compliance, and interior cabs refurbishment.
- New security systems can include card access, cameras, console, fire panel etc.
- Renovation of main lobby that includes 3 or more of the following items: floors, walls, entry doors, signage, security desk, etc.
- Renovation of restrooms that includes 4 or more of the following items: sinks, counter tops, toilet, urinals, floors, walls, lighting, faucets, flushometers, stale partitions, etc.
- Installation of new windows.
Retail*
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 percent occupancy. The anchor ratio must be at least 25 percent and the property must contain at least one anchor retailer (Grocery, Fashion, Department Store, etc.). The entry may consist of neighborhood centers (30,000 – 150,000 sq. ft.), community centers (100,000 – 400,000 sq. ft.), power centers (250,000 – 600,000 sq. ft.), regional shopping centers (400,000 – 800,000 sq. ft.) or super regional shopping centers (800,000 plus sq. ft.). No minimum office area is required.
- There are three different categories withing Retail:
- Enclosed Mall Under 1 million square feet
- Enclosed mall Over 1 million square feet
- Open Air/Strip mall
*BOMA 360 is not required for the 2023 – 2024 awards cycle in the Retail category.
Suburban Office Park Low-Rise
Two or more buildings managed by the same management company with the tallest building being no higher than 5 stories; all buildings must occupy land greater than 5 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 entry must submit under the Mid-Rise category.
Suburban Office Park High-Rise
Two or more buildings managed by the same management company with 1 building that is 6 to 10 stories in height, all buildings must occupy land greater than 5 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 entry must submit under the Mid-Rise category.
SQUARE FOOT CATEGORIES
Office Building Square Foot* Categories
- Under 100,00 Square Feet.
- 100,000 - 249,999 Square Feet.
- 250,000 - 499,999 Square Feet.
- 500,000 - 1 Million Square Feet.
- Over 1 Million Square Feet.
All buildings with at least 50% office area are eligible, except:
- Life Science which requires 30% lab space and has no minimum office requirement, and
- Medical which no longer has a minimum office requirement beginning with the 2024 Awards cycle.
* Total Rentable Area of the building as per BOMA Measurement Standards and/or other pre-approved standard.