Soundview Plaza, a class A office building in Stamford owned and managed by Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, has received The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) award from the Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association. The building, located at 1266 East Main St., previously won the award in 2003.
The award in the 100,000 to 249,999 s/f office building category was presented on October 30th at the BOMA chapter's Annual TOBY Awards Gala, held at The Inn at Longshore in Westport. The TOBY award is based on excellence in office building management, with all facets of a property's operations evaluated including building maintenance, operational efficiency, tenant retention, emergency preparedness and community impact.
James Bell, vice president of property management, who accepted the award on behalf of Mack-Cali, said, "This award results from Mack-Cali's commitment to provide tenants with the superior work environments they need to prosper. We're pleased to receive this recognition."
Soundview Plaza features a fitness center, parking garage, on-site dining and conference facilities, and recently upgraded lobby and common areas. The seven-story, 179,260 s/f office building is 79.2% leased.
Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is a fully-integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) providing management, leasing, development, construction and other tenant-related services for its class A real estate portfolio. Mack-Cali owns or has interests in 294 properties, primarily office and office/flex buildings located in the northeast, totaling approximately 33.7 million s/f.
The Southern Connecticut Chapter of BOMA honored Albert B. Ashforth, Inc. - Management Services employee Julio Suarez with the 2008 Engineer of the Year award. The award was presented to Suarez on October 28th at the TOBY Awards Gala.
Suarez is the building engineer at 55-57 Greens Farms Rd., a 120,000 s/f office complex in Westport. The criteria for the Engineer of the Year award was based on responsibilities, reliability, availability, tenant relations, certifications/licenses, cost savings/conservation projects, special projects, crisis management and other considerations.
In many ways Suarez has proven to be a valuable asset to Ashforth, property owner, Allianz Insurance Company of North America, and the tenants at 55-57 Greens Farms Rd. He is a certified HVAC mechanic and holds various industry certifications. He has helped reduce the mechanical repairs budget by 35% over the last 5 years by making a number of repairs himself. A few of those repairs included replacing several heating pumps complete with ductwork, the removal and rebuilding of the fountain in center of the property's pond, and retrofitting all light fixtures in the buildings to T-8 bulbs.
"Julio has been part of our team for six years and his strong work ethic and readiness to take on any project makes him a stellar employee and a pleasure to work with," said Robert Hartt, executive vice president of Albert B. Ashforth, Inc. - Management Services.