Event marks BOMA "The Office Building of the Year" (TOBY) and OAA
"People's Choice" awardsPEMBROKE, ON, July 17 /CNW/ -
NEWS
Today, the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) and Ontario Realty
Corporation (ORC) jointly and proudly recognized the government-owned Renfrew
County Courthouse in Pembroke by hosting an official presentation of two
prestigious awards. The newly restored, renovated and expanded facility was
recently named the 2009 "The Office Building of the Year" (TOBY) award winner
in the Historical Category from the Building Owners & Managers Association
(BOMA) of Ottawa. The courthouse also won the 2009 "People's Choice" and
"Design Excellence" awards from the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).
The TOBY award recognizes excellence in property management, operations,
resource conservation, environmental awareness, leasing and building design,
customer service and innovation. For the "People's Choice" award, the facility
was voted as the favourite from among 13 Design Excellence award winners in an
on-line competition.
QUOTES
"As a customer-focused real estate management company, ORC is proud to
stand beside our industry partners and a ministry client to share these
prestigious awards" said Dave Glass, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Ontario Realty Corporation. "The BOMA TOBY demonstrates that ORC and MAG are
operating the facility to the same high standard that NORR Architects and
Engineers established through their award-winning design."
"It was BOMA Ottawa's pleasure to visit such a well-managed and
distinctive facility," said Michael Zanon of Standard Life, who was the Lead
Judge for the TOBY awards. "The attention to historic detail and ability to
enhance it with a modern addition make this property a stunning example of how
to properly enhance an historical property with functional utility."
"In collaboration with MAG and ORC, NORR Architects and Engineers managed
to weave together a number of existing heritage buildings and modern
additions, creating an imposing new judicial complex," said Gerrie Doyle,
President of the Ontario Association of Architects. "There were 13 Design
Excellence winners from among more than 130 entries, and the people decided
that the Renfrew County Courthouse was the best of the best."
QUICK FACTS- The Renfrew County Courthouse is one of 22 government-owned
facilities that achieved the prestigious BOMA BESt (Building
Environmental Standards) certification in the 2008-09 fiscal year,
bringing the total to 47 over a two-year period.
- ORC provides customer-focused real estate services to the Ontario
government, managing one of the largest real estate portfolios in
Canada. It consists of approximately 6,500 buildings and structures,
over 100,000 acres of land and approximately 50 million square feet
of space both owned and leased across the province.
- BOMA is the voice of the commercial real estate industry,
representing the owners and managers of over 94 million square feet
of local commercial space.
- The OAA is a self-regulating organization dedicated to promoting and
increasing the knowledge, skill and proficiency of its members.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about Ontario Realty Corporation
(http://www.ontariorealty.ca/site3.aspx).
GREENING ONTARIO GOVERNMENT BUILDINGSOntario Realty Corporation (ORC) is taking a leadership role in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions in each of its buildings provincewide in order to
reduce the carbon footprint and create a cleaner, greener future for our
province.
The provincially-owned Renfrew County Courthouse at 297 Pembroke Street
East in Pembroke was one of 22 buildings in the ORC-managed portfolio to be
certified as "BOMA BESt" (Building Owners and Managers Association - Building
Environmental Standards) during the 2008-09 fiscal year. In addition, the
courthouse recently won BOMA Ottawa's "The Office Building of the Year" or
TOBY award in the Historical Category. The facility will be competing for a
national BOMA TOBY award, which will be announced at an event in Montreal in
September.
BOMA BESt
BOMA BESt is the evolution of the Go Green Plus program - a national
environmental recognition and certification program for existing commercial
buildings. Ontario Realty Corporation started undertaking BOMA Go Green Plus
assessments for government buildings of a certain size in 2006-07.
The road to certification actually began in 2004, when ORC invested a
significant effort in conducting energy audits across its portfolio. This
resulted in an aggressive repair program in 2005-06 that included upgrades to
heating, cooling and lighting systems.
This fiscal year, 22 government-owned buildings in the ORC portfolio
achieved certification, for a total of 47 over the last two years. They are:Renfrew County Courthouse Pembroke
Jules Leger Centre Ottawa
MTO Regional Office Kingston
Willet Green Miller Centre Sudbury
(*)OGB - 1270 Hwy. 101, South Porcupine Timmins
Ontario Forest Research Institute (OFRI) Sault Ste. Marie
Ontario Police College Aylmer
Ellen Fairclough Building Hamilton
OMAFRA Head Office Guelph
Laboratory Services Building Guelph
Robert S. K. Welch Courthouse St. Catharines
Brantford Courthouse & Land Registry Brantford
Cayuga Courthouse Cayuga
Norfolk County Courthouse Simcoe
Whitney Block Toronto
Michael Starr Building Oshawa
Newmarket Courthouse Newmarket
Simcoe County & District Courts Barrie
Ontario Science Centre Toronto
MOE Offices & Laboratories Toronto
Frost Building South Toronto
Frost Building North Toronto
(*)OGB = Ontario Government Building
For further information: Jeff Giffen, Ontario Realty Corporation, (705)
564-7205; Marcia Cooper, Ontario Association of Architects, (416) 449-6898;
Peggy Gallison, Building Owners and Managers Association - Ottawa, (613)
232-1875
