Canadian properties captured nearly a third of The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) awards handed out earlier this week at the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International annual conference and expo in San Antonio, Texas. The five winners also reflect the broad based excellence of Canada’s commercial real estate sector, representing five distinct pairings of owners and managers for buildings located in three different provinces.

Randal Froebelius, founder and president of Toronto-based Equity ICI Real Estate Services and a past chair of BOMA Canada, was named 2018 recipient of the BOMA International Chair’s Award at the same event. This annual recognition of one individual’s contribution to the betterment of the commercial real estate industry is the highest honour the BOMA International Chair can bestow.

A total of 16 BOMA International TOBYs were awarded. This year’s Canadian TOBY winners include:

• RBC WaterPark Place, in Toronto, in the Earth category. Oxford Property Group manages the property on behalf of its owners, 85 Harbour Street Holdings and CPP Investment Board Real Estate Holdings.
• Montreal’s Édifice Sun Life Building in the Historical Building category. Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP manages the property for its owner, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
• Also in Montreal, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, in the new TOBY category of Public Assembly Building. Aéroports de Montréal manages the airport on behalf of Transport Canada.
• 165 Commerce Valley Drive West, in Markham, Ontario, in the category of buildings less than 100,000 square feet. Northam Realty Advisors Limited manages the property for the owner, Northam CCPF Tenco (CVD) Limited.
• 980 Howe, in Vancouver, in the category of buildings of 100,000 to 249,999 square feet. Manulife Real Estate owns and manages the building.

The five winners advanced to the 2018 BOMA International TOBY competition after attaining 2017 BOMA Canada TOBY honours.

Don Fairgrieve-Park’s new status as a BOMA Fellow was also officially conferred in San Antonio. The executive vice president for QuadReal Property Group’s British Columbia region was one of just 10 BOMA members from across North America to receive the designation this year.

“The individuals honoured as BOMA Fellows have displayed exemplary and sustained contributions to the industry, their profession, the community and BOMA at all levels and have continually answered the call to leadership and service throughout their careers,” BOMA International affirms.