Durnan and Spurr Honored at 2017 TOBY & Industry Awards; CBRE|NE Wins Several

BOSTON–CBRE/New England followed up last year’s success with a nearly identical trophy tally at the 2017 BOMA Boston TOBY & Industry Awards, as over 550 CRE professionals turned out to honor the top performers in property management, building operations, and service in the real estate industry. CBRE nearly swept all the Property Manager of the Year Awards, taking home three of the four trophies before dinner was served; they then captured half of the awards in The Outstanding Building of the Year categories following dessert. Transwestern won three TOBYs (as well as a Property Manager of the Year distinction), with Lincoln Property, Synergy Investments, JLL, and Rockhill Management earning one each. BOMA also honored John Durnan as its 2017 Executive of the Year, and John H. “Jack” Spurr Jr., former President and CEO of A.W. Perry, with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Durnan, who recently retired from John Hancock Real Estate following a 30-year CRE career, which included positions with Equity Office, Spaulding & Slye and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, currently serves on the BOMA Boston Board of Directors. In addition to managing a 2.5 million SF office and retail portfolio in Greater Boston, Durnan led sustainable efforts for John Hancock, lobbying successfully for the purchase of renewable energy and installing electric vehicle charging stations throughout the Hancock portfolio. He has been an active member of BOMA for over 15 years.

Spurr, who also recently stepped down from his role of President and CEO of A.W. Perry, to “semi-retired” to a part-time position as the firm’s vice chairman, was honored for his contributions to the real estate community as well, through his numerous involvements with a myriad of charitable organizations. Spurr served as President of BOMA in 1991, following in the footsteps of his father, who held the position in 1954. During his acceptance, he stressed the important contributions that BOMA has made to his career, and lauded BOMA past President Dennis F. Callahan of Colliers International, whom he met in an RPA class early in his career. “He probably should be up here, and maybe he will be in a couple of years because he has mentored more people in this industry than anybody that I know,” Spurr said of Callahan.

Jack Spurr also thanked BOMA past President Bob Lemons of Keypoint Partners, who was an early mentor at BOMA, and Rosemarie Sansone, President of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District Corporation - for which Spurr now serves as chairman on. In closing, he noted that when he was BOMA President in 1991, Ranne Warner and Lisa Campoli served on the board; with Warner going on to become the first woman President of BOMA (Campoli would later hold the office). He also congratulated BOMA President-elect Amy Bush of Brookfield Property Partners.

CBRE/New England again prevailed in both the Industry and TOBY Awards, with Cynthia Taylor (Low-Rise); Clayton Wentworth, (High-Rise); and Nicole Townsend (Suburban) taking home Property Manager of the Year honors, along with Transwestern’s Matt Callahan (Mid-Rise). Amy Benoit, Director of Sales and Marketing for 24 Restore, was named Affiliate Member of the Year, and ACP Facility Services was recognized as Affiliate Company of the Year.

CBRE/New England also took home seven of the 14 TOBY Awards, which are an official recognition of best-performing buildings at home and across the globe (see winners below). BOMA Boston annually hosts the Awards event for the Greater Boston real estate community, where the winners will go on to compete at the regional TOBY Awards competition at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) to be held in Buffalo, NY in early May. MAC winners will advance to the worldwide stage in San Antonio in late June when the final TOBY Awards will be presented at the BOMA International Conference.

“The TOBY and Industry Awards are BOMA Boston’s signature annual event, and it was extra special this year as BOMA Boston celebrated its Centennial year,” said Jim DerMinasian, BOMA President and Senior VP at Taurus Management Services, following the event. “We were glad to have the opportunity to honor Jack Spurr and John Durnan for their contributions to our community and the real estate industry. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees,” concluded DerMinasian.

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2017 Boston TOBY Winners:

Over 1 Million SF: 53 State Street, owned by UBS Realty Investors and managed by Lincoln Property Company.

500,000-1 Million SF: One Boston Place, owned by TH Real Estate and Invanhoe Cambridge and managed by CBRE | New England

250,000-500,000 SF: 25 Mall Road, owned by PRIM Mall Road, LLC and managed by CBRE | New England

100,000-250,000 SF: 38 Chauncy Street, owned by Hive Property Owner, LLC and managed by Synergy Investments

Corporate Facility: New Balance Headquarters, owned by NB Development Group and managed by Transwestern

Earth Award: 101 Seaport Boulevard, owned by Union Investment Real Estate GmbH and managed by CBRE | New England

Historical Building: 160 Federal Street, owned by Rockpoint Group and managed by Rockhill Management

Medical Office Building: 800 Huntington Avenue, owned by LaSalle Investment Management and Managed by CBRE | New England

Mixed Use Building: Rowe’s Wharf, owned by Morgan Stanley and managed by JLL

Public Assembly Building: Warrior Ice Arena, owned by NB Development Group and managed by Transwestern

Renovated Building: Riverfront Office Park, owned by Deutsche Asset Management and managed by CBRE | New England

Retail Building: Riverway Plaza, owned by CBRE Global Investors and managed by CBRE | New England

Suburban Low-Rise: Westborough Executive Park, owned by Albany Road Real Estate Partners and Managed by Transwestern

Suburban Office Park Mid-Rise: Fifth Avenue @ City Point, owned by Anchor Line partners and managed by CBRE/New England

Jack Spurr Received A Lifetime Achievement Award