 735 North Water |
735 North Water, a 16-story 300,000-square foot multi-tenant office building in the heart of Milwaukee’s central business district, is approaching its 100th birthday. While it may pre-date the slick, glass towers of recent decades, it’s not short on best practices. In fact, it recently became the first BOMA 360 Performance Building in Wisconsin, with the tenant satisfaction ratings and operational excellence to back it up.
Sheldon Oppermann, vice president, Compass Properties, LLC, applied for the BOMA 360 designation as a way to differentiate the property, which he believes is critically important in a distressed market. “In today’s market—and in any market, for that matter—buildings need a way t o brag about themselves,” Oppermann says. “The BOMA 360 designation speaks volumes about what’s important to the owner and management company. It’s a ground-up approach to recognizing excellence that articulates the value we provide.”
While 735 North Water is ENERGY STAR® rated and is currently preparing to get LEED EB certification, both significant achievements, Oppermann believes the BOMA 360 Performance Program offers something new. “Some buildings differentiate themselves with ENERGY STAR® or LEED, which largely measure energy efficiency and environmental impact. But whether or not tenants are satisfied, whether or not building owners are happy—it all comes down to the building’s management. The only group that deals with best practices in building management is BOMA.”
735 North Water’s Property Manager Gabriel Fernandez agrees that the program’s strength lies in its ability to recognize holistic performance. “Being a best-in-class building is not just about the appearance of a building or amenities that it has. Of course those aspects play a factor in the equation, but a lot of it has to do with the management style and the type of environment we’re creating for our tenants. This designation recognizes that.”
Put simply, the program is not about age or appearance, but about operational excellence. “The program allows us to emphasize all the accomplishments that we’ve made. And it’s not just coming from us, it’s third-party recognition,” add Oppermann. “We want to be able to share with our community and the rest of the country what we do here. We’re 100 years old! If we can manage to do this with a 100-year old building, so can others.”
Learn more about the BOMA 360 Performance Program.
By Lindsay Tiffany