September 12, 2003—The commercial real estate industry has always had comprehensive emergency preparedness plans in place even prior to the events of September 11. However, both private and government sector reported spending considerably more on security in 2002 vs. 2001.
Corporate facilities, which typically comprise high profile, class A buildings, reported increasing their overall security expenses by 13 percent ($1.03/rsf in 2002 vs. $.91/rsf in 2001), according to BOMAs Experience Exchange Report 2003 (EER). The dollar amount spent by corporate facilities on security contracts went up by 35% in 2002 ($.73 vs. $.54 in 2001). Security contracts include both guard and monitoring contracts.
A large number of corporate facilities have also implemented tighter vendor security, including vendor check-in procedures and requests for vendors to conduct employee background checks. Special attention is also being paid to parking decks and garages, where bombs can be planted in entering vehicles. The dollar amount spent on security equipment also increased to $.15/rsf in 2002 vs. $.06 in 2001.
The costs of acquiring and upgrading cameras, monitors, and alarm systems accounted for a large portion of this increase. The trend in an increase in security spending is likely to continue for the next couple of years before it levels off.
To order the Experience Exchange Report (EER), call 800/426-6292 or visit BOMA.
