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Politics and the Credit Crunch Top the Bill at Real Estate Roundtable Meeting
from left – Rep. Gregory Meeks, BOMA Chairman Brenna Walraven, Rep. Gary Ackerman and Rep. John Larson at the Spring Real Estate Roundtable Meeting
BOMA International Chairman Brenna S. Walraven, RPA, CPM, and BOMA International President Henry H. Chamberlain, CAE, APR, participated in the Spring Real Estate Roundtable Meeting where politics, the economic climate and credit crunch concerns took center stage.
David Gergen, editor-at-large, U.S. News & World Report, gave a special briefing on the 2008 election, stressing that the plethora of challenges facing the next President – the War in Iraq and continued unease with Iran, the economy, tax cut fights, finding financial resources for Social Security and Medicare, and health costs in general – are the most daunting since the FDR presidency. Gergen also noted that the traditional characteristics of leadership (drive, judgment and experience) are being wed with new leadership needs (adaptability, courage, coalition building), noting that all three candidates have some of these leadership characteristics, though none has all.
Sen. Ensign (R–Nev.) spoke on budgets, taxes and the economy, telling attendees that he believes coupling current housing and energy bills could spark action this year. On the energy front, Ensign stated that solar energy will be a winner over the next eight year, and in the area of business and unions, he said he is very worried about the union efforts on card checks, saying business needs to lobby hard to ensure secret votes on union organizing efforts.
Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke on the core competitive challenges facing U.S. businesses. Top among those challenges for Donohue is the human capital problem in the U.S., which is exacerbated by a poor educational system and an inability to establish an immigration policy. He also noted that energy supply and conservation are huge issues for the economy, as well as deteriorating infrastructure that has seen little investment for repair.
Attendees got the “Fed’s” perspective on the economy from the Honorable Kevin M. Warsh, governor of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh stressed that the Fed’s recent actions and fixes have been extraordinary but are temporary, and that the private sector is going to have to engage the economy over the next six months if those action have a chance to work. Also of note, Warsh stated that while housing has been a catalyst for the weakening economy, the lost faith in our financial architecture is driving it, and that the ratings agencies and the investor community have joint responsibility.
Ron Insana with Insana Capital Partners and political and economic advisor to CNBC, moderated a group interactive session on the credit crunch. The consensus of the group was that the credit crunch is a major problem that will take a few years to work through, and that a once “greed” focused economy is now concentrating on fundamentals to recover. Most of the participants in the forum agreed that the U.S. skirted economic disaster through the FED’s actions, although they still view the economy as precarious for the time being. The group agreed that job creation is a key to strengthening the economy.
Following the meeting, BOMA and elected officials from several other real estate associations facilitated the drafting of a collective sustainability statement to signal to the public that our industry is handling the issue seriously and well. BOMA International is recognized as an industry leader on energy efficiency and sustainability with the launch and success of the 7-Point Challenge and its award-winning educational programming. The sustainably statement drafted at the meeting allows every association or company within the industry the opportunity to join the effort to transform the marketplace on energy and the environment.
BOMA and AOBA testify before Congress on Green Initiatives
Robert Shovan, senior vice president, Transwestern, testifies before Congress on greening initiatives in Washington, D.C.
BOMA International and the Apartment and Office Building Association (AOBA) testified on Capitol Hill before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. The Committee Chair, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, asked BOMA and AOBA about commercial real estate green initiatives in Washington D.C., as well as some of the industry’s national efforts.
BOMA member Robert Shovan, senior vice president with Transwestern, briefed subcommittee members on the growing interest and commitment within the built environment on reducing energy consumption, as well as the industry’s adoption of the 7-Point Challenge. The following is excerpted from the testimony.
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“The construction divisions of AOBA’s member companies are increasingly embracing the “green” movement and building new buildings to LEED standards, is a growing… phenomenon, but there is an equally important role which falls to the property management side of such firms (or to outside firms brought in to manage buildings): that of finding ways to increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the existing buildings in our portfolios. Property management professionals, too, recognize the critical significance of energy conservation to contain costs and reduce environmental impacts. But it is also essential that elected officials and the public understand that realizing energy efficiency and sustainability gains in existing buildings presents an array of considerations and variables quite different from those involved in new construction….. |
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..The good news is that there is a growing interest in and commitment to undertaking “green initiatives” in the largely built environment; increasingly, it is a matter of “when,” not “if,” and of “how?” rather than “why?” To that end, AOBA is undertaking a number of initiatives to assist its members. This month, it launched a new Energy Managers Roundtable, a peer-group forum that brings together executives responsible for energy management and conservation in local office and apartment buildings to share best practices regarding energy management issues, technologies, equipment and vendors. |
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AOBA is building a “Going Green” Web site, specifically focused on existing buildings, which will include case studies, helpful resources and a comprehensive outline of all green-related local laws, regulations and incentive programs. |
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On Sept. 25th, AOBA will hold a “Greening Existing Buildings” conference and resource center that will address the unique issues associated with the “greening” of existing multifamily and commercial office buildings. AOBA is also one of the most recent BOMA affiliates to officially sign onto BOMA International’s “7-Point Challenge.” BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge has been voluntarily endorsed by many of the largest companies that own and operate buildings in the U.S., and is perhaps the best illustration nationally of the private sector’s movement toward energy efficiency…. This Challenge calls on its member companies to take proactive and aggressive steps to lower energy consumption across their portfolios by 30 percent by 2012, in comparison to an average building (defined as a building earning a score of 50 on the EPA ENERGY STAR benchmarking tool in 2007)…” |
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BOMA has also partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to help bring the many benefits of their Existing Building Retrofit Program to private sector office buildings. |
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BOMA International strongly believes that energy efficiency and carbon reduction efforts are well underway in the commercial office building industry. Voluntary efforts and programs, such as the EPA ENERGY STAR program and the Clinton Climate Initiative, are bringing tools to our members to assist them in their efforts. We look to Congress to continue to encourage this type of action and other incentives and refrain from implementing unneeded and costly mandates…” |
Last July BOMA Chairman Brenna Walraven testified before the same subcommittee on energy efficiency in public buildings.
A Night to Remember – BOMA Honored for Sustainability Excellence
BOMA Chairman Brenna Walraven and President Henry Chamberlain accept the Energy Star Partner of the Year Award
BOMA International was honored at the recent ENERGY STAR® Awards gala in Washington D.C. with a Partner of the Year award for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery. This was the second year in a row that BOMA received the award and BOMA is still the first and only commercial real estate association to be recognized with this honor.
In a night capped with numerous acceptance speeches from executives and CEOs spanning the breadth of U.S. business, all attention focused when BOMA International Chairman Brenna S. Walraven, RPA, CPM, and BOMA President Henry H. Chamberlain, CAE, APR, took the stage to accept the award on behalf of BOMA, its members and the commercial real estate industry.
Walraven thanked ENERGY STAR for helping BOMA deliver BEEP, BOMA staff for their dedication and the BEEP Task Force for developing the groundbreaking energy efficiency program, “This would not have happened without you and your leadership cannot be understated,” said Walraven.
Chamberlain thanked BOMA’s industry partners, including the U.S. Green Building Council and the Real Estate Roundtable, and emphasized the collective pledge of scores of BOMA members who are leading sustainability efforts by signing onto BOMA’s groundbreaking 7-Point Challenge to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012.
Five BOMA member companies also received ENERGY STAR awards: USAA Real Estate Company and Transwestern were recognized with Sustained Excellence Awards, while CB Richard Ellis, TIAA-CREF and Simon Property Group all received Partner of the Year nods.
Brenna Walraven discusses her work with the Clinton Climate Initiative during the ENERGY STAR Buildings Awardee Reception and Dialogue
Prior to the ENERGY STAR awards, Walraven and Chamberlain attended an ENERGY STAR Buildings Awardee Reception and Dialogue hosted by Real Estate Roundtable. Chamberlain briefed the group on the outreach and success of the 7-Point Challenge, emphasizing the benchmarking component of the Challenge as a crucial step in tracking energy savings and determining operational strategy. Walraven was commended for the work she is doing with the Clinton Climate Initiative on behalf of BOMA International to develop a simplified model performance contract with the energy service companies.
Other presenters included Stuart Brodsky and Jean Lupinacci with ENERGY STAR who discussed a national action plan for “Smart Energy,” which brings communities together with the U.S. Council of Mayors to develop and promote energy efficiency plans. Kevin McCarty with the U.S. Conference of Mayors asked everyone to be active with their cities and to continue to work at the local level. McCarty praised several cities for their accomplishments in different areas of energy conservation and management: Seattle for carbon emissions, Portland for transportation, and Austin for technology and smart buildings, to name a few.
BOMA Goes to Capital Hill
BOMA members from across the country took commercial real estate’s message straight to national lawmakers on Capitol Hill during the National Issues Conference (NIC), held March 10-11 in Washington, D.C.
BOMA members met with legislators on several key industry issues and asked senators, representatives and their staff to:
- Support legislation to permanently reduce the timeline for depreciating leasehold improvements to 15 years;
- Support further extension or make permanent the reduced rate on capital gains;
- Maintain current law that taxes carried interest as a capital gain and oppose any efforts to change the tax code to require it be taxed as ordinary income;
- Support tax incentives for energy efficient commercial buildings;
- Support legislation to address the disruption in the catastrophic insurance market, and
- Join the Congressional Real Estate Caucus.
NBC News Analyst Chuck Todd
Opening Luncheon speaker and NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd gave NIC attendees an insider’s glimpse into the hard-fought democratic primary races and the upcoming presidential election, saying the current democratic race will be remembered as “the great Clinton-Obama showdown” and that despite some reluctance within his own party “McCain keeps republicans competitive” against either democratic candidate in the national election.
BOMA Vice Chairman Jim Peck, Chairman Brenna Walraven, Rep. Michael Turner and Incoming Chairman Dick Purtell
Representative Michael Turner (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Congressional Real Estate Caucus, thanked BOMA members for the expertise they bring to Congress on real estate issues and encouraged attendees to “remain active to grow the association and its impact.” Rep. Turner addressed brownfields issues, telling attendees that there needs to be more tax credit incentives to cleanup brownfields and in turn revitalize disadvantaged communities. “Communities suffer when brownfields just sit,” said Rep. Turner. “These tax credits would put business right back into our downtown urban areas.”
Rep. Ron Klein addresses NIC attendees
NIC attendees also heard from Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) who spoke on several issues critical to commercial real estate, including the need to extend the 15 year depreciation period for leasehold improvements and tax incentives for sustainable and/or energy efficiency retrofits for commercial buildings. Rep Klein, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee which has jurisdiction over terrorism risk and catastrophic risk issues, discussed the creation of a national risk catastrophe pool to insure against natural disasters. BOMA Vice President of Advocacy Karen Penafiel thanked Rep. Klein for his help in getting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) extended in 2007.
Stephen M. Renna, senior vice president & counsel, Real Estate Roundtable, helped prep BOMA members for their Capitol Hill visits by fleshing out the complexities of many of commercial real estate’s most pressing issues, including carried interest tax on partnerships, which is in danger of being taxed as ordinary income instead of capital gain to pay for Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief. Renna told attendees to educate lawmakers by reminding them that…
- Carried interest is a main street issue not a Wall Street issue
- 50 percent of all partnerships are real estate partnerships
- $1.3 trillion is invested through partnerships that use carried interest
- The resulting capital shift would mean a $20 billion loss of value for the economy overall.
Other NIC highlights included the “How to Lobby” workshop where BOMA staff briefed attendees on the “do’s” and “don’ts” of lobbying and strategies for communicating key industry issues to Congressional members and their staffers. A debriefing after the Capitol Hill visits gave BOMA members a chance to discuss how their lobbying efforts were received and any feedback they received from lawmakers.
BOMA members attending the National Issues Conference praised the significance of face-to-face time with legislators and regulators. “You don’t realize the value of NIC until you come to one,” said Steve Hrbeck, RPA, Secretary/Treasurer with BOMA/Suburban Chicago. “This is one of the best things BOMA does for its members.” Hear what attendees from BOMA/Suburban Chicago gained by attending NIC.
It was standing room only at the BAE Leadership Conference.
BAE Conference a Great Success
BOMA local association executives meet in Washington to network; share information
BOMA Association Executives (BAEs) gathered in Washington, D.C, October 25-27, for the 16th Annual BAE Leadership Conference. A strong program and idea exchange sessions drew great attendance as BAEs came together to share information with colleagues and gain insight on the latest BOMA programs. Topics included membership retention, management and leadership development, new educational opportunities, BOMA Baseline Standards Metrics, and sessions on employment contracts and enhancing value to employers.
Highlights from the BAE Conference:
The opening general session “Member Recruitment Strategy and Information Sharing” generated an exciting dialogue among BAEs. The session was moderated by BOMA International’s Vice President of Association Services Bob McClure and featured a diverse panel of association executives: Marc Intermaggio of BOMA/San Francisco, Susan Steward of BOMA/Portland Metropolitan and Bill Milone of BOMA Nevada. The panel discussed ideas, challenges and strategies for growing and retaining membership. Intermaggio then shared his experiences and the results of BOMA/San Francisco’s Market Research Project. During a recent strategic planning meeting, BOMA/San Francisco decided to retain an outside firm to conduct a market research project with the ultimate goal of increasing membership. He shared with the group the results and offered great advice for those local associations considering doing market research. The session provided BAE’s with useful tools for evaluating and achieving their membership goals.
Tammy Moss, BAE Council Chair, BOMA/Memphis, addresses attendees at the BAE Leadership Conference.
BOMA’s adoption of baseline standards was a hot topic at this year’s conference, and the session “BOMA ONE: Baseline Standards Metrics Development” provided a lively forum for discussion and clarification. BOMA/Greater Cleveland’s Janice Parham presented the highly anticipated measurement system for baseline standards, developed since the Board of Governors approved the standards in July. The metrics will allow a uniform system of evaluating the local associations and their service delivery, with the goal of consistent service delivery among all locals. The 440-point scale assigns points for specific areas under four categories: Marketplace and Image Branding, Local Leadership, Planning and Management, Member Services and Communication and Advocacy. The grading scale ranges from “substantially below criteria” to “best practices” with a grade of compliance earned at 83 percent. While many indicted that the metrics still need some clarification, it was generally agreed that they represent substantial strides by the BOMA ONE Task Force on the measurement of the baseline standards. The BAE’s also asked that more time be allotted at the next meeting for an in-depth conversation about the metrics.
During the “Foundations of Real Estate Management Update” session, BOMA International’s Senior Vice President Pat Areno briefed the BAEs about the Foundations of Real Estate Management education course that could be a tremendous asset to BOMA local associations looking for effective management training to offer professionals coming into the industry. The program, formerly known as Property Management 101, was initially developed by BOMA/Atlanta and has been adapted and revised for local associations to implement throughout the country. The course is aimed at those property managers and other members of the commercial real estate community who are new to the industry and would like to solidify their foundational knowledge of commercial real estate management. Gabriel Eckert, BAE of BOMA/Atlanta, shared his experience with the program and offered useful tips for starting the program in other areas. The program received positive feedback from the group. A few BAEs who are also property managers shared their enthusiasm for the program and concurred that it will be an important addition to their local association education. The program is set to launch in spring 2008.
CREW Network Announces Impact Award Winners and Results of Leadership Study
Earlier this month, at its annual convention and marketplace in Denver, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network announced the recipients of its annual Impact Awards, recognizing the significant achievements of individuals, chapters and organizations in commercial real estate, and those that have effectively embraced strategies to make the industry more diverse and inclusive.
The awards follow the release earlier this year of CREW Network’s study, CREW Network: Minding the Gap, which outlines successful strategies that both individual women and companies in commercial real estate should adopt to ensure a more diverse workplace in which women play greater leadership roles.
“Creating a diverse workforce is a responsibility that has to be shared by everyone who chooses to make a living in commercial real estate. This study sought to proactively identify concrete strategies for both companies and individuals to make this happen,” said Marianne Ajemian, 2007 CREW Network President.
The findings of the report indicate that among the most significant barriers to women advancing in commercial real estate is the fact that both men and women prefer to manage groups of their own gender. Other barriers for women include a lack of awareness about compensation disparities, a hesitancy to accept risk as part of the overall career equation and challenges in setting a work/life balance.
CREW Network: Minding the Gap suggests multiple strategies for women in commercial real estate to overcome these challenges:
- Use a salary increase or potential promotion as an opportunity to negotiate, not an offer to accept or reject
- Seek opportunities to invest financially in your company and business projects
- Seek opportunities to work with mixed-gender teams and senior leaders
- Develop a unique specialization or niche expertise that will add value to your company
- Seek targeted education addressing risk assessment and management
- Stay connected to the workplace when on leave, establish connection commitments before leaving
The first ever CREW Network Achievement of Excellence Award was presented to attorney Jennifer Marler, with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in St. Louis. Marler is credited with involving more than 30 female peers in commercial real estate transaction involving properties located across North America.
And, in Washington, DC, CREW Network members, led by Eileen Circo of Lowe Enterprises, undertook prominent roles in the $220 million CityVista redevelopment project – a major mixed-use project in an emerging neighborhood of downtown Washington DC – created in a public and private partnership with the District’s Redevelopment Land Agency. The team received the CREW Network Impact Award in the Economic Improvement category.
BOMA Chairman-Elect Brenna Walraven and BOMA Chairman Kurt Padavano announce BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge Energy Plan.
BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge Receives National Media Attention
BOMA International’s recently announced Market Transformation Energy Plan and 7-Point Challenge has received coverage in national and industry media outlets, including MSNBC.com, Bloomberg Radio, Reuters, Globe St. and National Real Estate Investor, to name but a few. BOMA International announced its Market Transformation Energy Plan, which calls on members to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012, during the recent BOMA Congress and The Office Building Show in New York City. Read More.
BOMA Participates in Spring Roundtable Meeting - Energy, Terrorism Insurance discussed
BOMA International Chairman-Elect Brenna Walraven and President and COO Henry Chamberlain participated with government and industry leaders in the Spring Real Estate Roundtable Meeting in Washington D.C.
BOMA International Chairman-Elect Brenna Walraven (right) with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Spring Real Estate Roundtable Meeting.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi briefed attendees on several issues affecting commercial real estate, including the anticipated extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). Pelosi said passage was a priority of the Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and that it could happen before the congressional recess in August.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman highlighted three initiatives underway at DOE: Advanced Energy, Advanced Competitiveness and High Performance Buildings, and emphasized the government’s commitment to being a partner in driving energy efficiency and energy independence through technology, alternative fuels and innovation.
NBC News chief financial analyst Mike Jensen moderated a panel on energy policy that included Congressional members and representatives from environmental organizations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). BOMA International was cited several times during the panel as leading association on energy issues within the industry and Chairman-Elect Brenna Walraven was called on to highlight BOMA’s educational efforts and other programs.