April 9, 2003—Larry F. Soehren, President, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, recently testified before Congress recently to assist the House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, treasury and independent agencies in understanding building cost drivers.
Soehren provided his testimony as the subcommittee considered the Administration’s fiscal year 2004 budget request for the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service.
Soehren told the subcommittee that building operating costs for both private and public sector buildings have increased steadily on average about 10 percent each year over the past five years.
“From 2000 to 2001, for instance, total operating costs increased 10.99 percent,” said Soehren. The data Soehren mentioned were contained in BOMA International’s 2002 Experience Exchange Report, a benchmarking tool for income and expense data widely used by the commercial real estate industry.
Chief among the operating costs cited by Soehren were security measures. Soehren cited a March 2002 survey conducted by CEL & Associates on behalf of BOMA International and the Urban Land Institute, which revealed that most building owners, managers and developers have improved security systems and procedures since September 11 by adding security cameras, increasing security personnel, and either installing or more rigidly enforcing card access systems. The security enhancement employed most frequently following September 11 was tighter vendor security, including requirements for vendor identification, vendor check-in and requests for vendors to conduct employee background checks.
Among the improvements planned by survey participants were:
- Increasing the number and/or upgrading the quality of security cameras throughout the interior and surrounding the exterior of buildings;
- Reviewing, updating and/or expanding emergency planning and evacuation procedures;
- Increasing the number of security personnel;
- Adding identification cards for vendors and tenants;
- Adding, expanding and/or enforcing key card access systems;
- Implementing a more rigorous security system;
- Eliminating loading-dock parking and after-hours deliveries;
- Expanding security training for all property employees;
- Restricting access to various building areas to all but authorized personnel; and
- Implementing new security procedures in and around the mail room/mail center area(s).
For more information, contact BOMA.
