January 10, 2005—The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago has commended the City Council’s Committee on Buildings for its recent vote to send the full Council an ordinance requiring fire sprinkler systems in older downtown office buildings.
The number-one priority of BOMA/Chicago is the safety and security of tenants, staff, employees and guests in member buildings. Mandating sprinklers in buildings constructed prior to 1975 is an important step in achieving that goal.
BOMA also encourages all building owners and managers to review their procedures for compliance with requirements of the Chicago building codes, the high-rise evacuation ordinance and Fire Department regulations. As always, BOMA/Chicago will continue to collaborate with the Fire and Police Departments on measures to make our buildings as safe and secure as humanly possible.
BOMA is working closely with the City to find ways to help finance installation of sprinkler systems in older buildings, to minimize the substantial financial impact of this measure. We anticipate developing a program with the City to accomplish that objective.
BOMA/Chicago calculates the impact of the measure at a minimum of $320 million. This figure is based on the amount of square footage in 46 high- rise office buildings that are neither 100 percent sprinklered nor landmarked. Another 37 buildings with landmark status must undergo a life safety evaluation and may also be required to install sprinklers based on the outcome of that evaluation. The BOMA/Chicago calculation is based on a mid-range cost of $10 per square foot for sprinkler installations and an additional $16.50 per square foot in cases where asbestos removal also would be required.
