BOMA/Chi. Elects New President/Officers

CHICAGO—The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago has just elected T.J. Brookover, regional manager for AmTrust Realty Corp. in Chicago, its new president. Along with a group of new officers, Brookover was elected at the association's recent 2014 Annual Meeting held at the Ritz Carlton Chicago. He succeeds George Kohl, chief operating officer of Sterling Bay Companies, who just completed his two-year term.

“George's leadership and industry knowledge played an integral role in elevating BOMA/Chicago and Chicago's commercial real estate industry during his tenure as president,” says Michael Cornicelli, executive vice president of BOMA/Chicago. “We thank George for his tireless dedication and contributions.”

Brookover tells GlobeSt.com that his main job as president of the trade association will be to continuously ask “how can we help contain costs?” A recent report by MBRE found that these average combined tax and operating expenses have already hit a six-year high of $14.24 per square-foot, an increase of 3.7% since 2012. Class A expenses hit $16.67 and classes B and C were at $11.88. “We are monitoring both of those closely.”

Prior to his position with AmTrust, Brookover was the director of property management for the John Buck Company. He also served as a senior vice president at Shorenstein Realty Services.

BOMA/Chicago has had an active year. It came out against the proposed expansion of a Central Loop neighborhood improvement district called SSA #1, which currently covers buildings on both sides of State St., into the East Loop. Many building owners in the area “did not see the benefits or the return on investment on what they would be obligated to pay,” says Brookover, “and BOMA supported their view.” The city eventually decided to retract the proposed expansion.

Brookover also promises that the organization will continue to monitor how the city implements its energy-benchmarking ordinance, which the City Council passed in 2013. BOMA/Chicago worked with Karen Weigert, the city's chief sustainability officer, to craft the ordinance, which requires municipal, commercial and residential properties with more than 50,000-square-feet to track their energy usage. But the organization did oppose the requirement that buildings publicly report usage. “We're afraid that these scores can be misconstrued,” he explains, especially by those who don't understand all of the factors that can impact energy consumption. The city is currently compiling data on the largest buildings, and the smaller ones will be phased in.

Another big focus over the next year will be the organization's smart grid initiative. Launched last year, participating buildings get advanced smart meters and Internet-based data collection tools that allow owners to have real-time access to their buildings' energy use. On existing meters, it takes at least one day to get detailed information. Brookover is a member of the organization's energy and sustainability committee and has also played a pivotal role in the initiative since its inception. They currently have three buildings in the pilot and are either in negotiations or various stages of implementation with another five or six. He expects that buildings, based on a wide variety of factors, can save 5% to 20% on energy use.

“For us, it's all about getting information that is not readily available,” he says. “Part of our association and industry's strength lies in the vast network of resources we possess, and we must aim to leverage those relationships and resources to spark innovation and new economic opportunities for our members and colleagues within the industry.”

“As our association begins this next chapter under new leadership,” says Cornicelli. “I couldn't be more confident in T.J.'s ability to serve as the voice of our industry and passionately advocate on behalf of our building and affiliate members that remain the lifeblood of Chicago's central business district.”

BOMA/Chicago members also elected the association's vice president and treasurer. Robert Quast, vice president of property management for Lincoln Property Group, was elected vice president and Lance D. Knez, vice president of property management for Hines Interests, was elected treasurer. In addition, Betsy Traczek, principal and director of property management for the John Buck Company, was elected to the association's board of directors. Traczek replaces outgoing board member Charles W. Wagener, with Lillibridge Healthcare Services, Inc., who served for fifteen years.