July 30, 2010

BOMA 2010: A New Approach to OfficeMeasurement Standards

The standard method of floor measurement for officebuildings (referred to here simply as the Standard) wasdeveloped by the Building Owners and ManagersAssociation International in 1915, and it has served as thenational standard ever since.

The 1996 Standard

The Standard has been revised from time to time to respondto changing needs. In early versions, Usable Areas (spacesthat could be occupied by tenants) were grossed up bymeans of a conversion factor referred to as the "R/U Ratio"to include a pro rata share of the floor area of the FloorCommon Areas Ganitor closets, telephone rooms,washrooms, corridors, elevator lobby areas, etc.), but thefloor areas of facilities serving the entire building (asopposed to a single floor) such as ground floor lobby areas,concierge areas, loading docks, boiler rooms, electrical andmechanical rooms and other amenities were not apportionedto increase the areas of Usable Areas for the purposes ofcalculating rent.

In 1996, the ground floor lobby areas, atrium spaces at thelevel of the finished floor, concierge areas, security desks,conference rooms, lounges or vending areas, food servicefacilities, health or fitness centres, mailrooms, fire controlrooms, and fully enclosed mechanical or equipment roomswere included in a new definition: "Building CommonArea", and this area was allocated by means of a conversionfactor referred to as the "Building R/U Ratio" to all areasthat are occupiable by tenants of the building.

The 2010 Standard

In 2010 further revisions of the Standard were introduced.It now includes a chart that facilitates the calculation of

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Rentable Area for a building and includes several newand replacement definitions. Changes have been madein the way Floor Common Areas are apportioned ingrossing up office and other occupiable space on a floorthat contains Building Service Areas. Building ServiceAreas include boiler rooms, main floor lobbies, buildingelectrical and mechanical rooms, fire control rooms andother areas that are necessary to enable all occupants towork in the building. This change is designed to ensurethat office and other occupiable areas on the floor receivean appropriate apportionment of the Floor CommonAreas. Under the 1996 Standard, office and otheroccupiable areas on other floors were grossed up toinclude a portion of Floor Common Areas that shouldproperly be allocated to the tenants on the floor where theBuilding Service Areas are located. The mechanics ofhow this is achieved become evident when Chart 3,Legacy Method A, Global Summary of Areas is analyzed,but the calculations are subtle and only become apparenton careful analysis.

A problem with the treatment of storage areas is alsoaddressed. Under the 1996 Standard, storage areas notintended for occupation are included in the Rentable Areaof the building. This gives the tenants of office areas awindfall at the expense of the landlord. Storage areas thatare not served by air conditioning or otherwise finishedfor occupation are not leased on a net basis and nocontribution to operating costs or taxes is included in therental rates or fees for these areas. If those storage areasare included in the Rentable Area of the building theyinflate the denominator of the proportionate share fractionused for determining a tenant's share of operating costsand taxes. As a result, the landlord effectively subsidizesan amount equal to the operating costs and taxescontributions per square foot of the storage areas.

The problem is remedied by creating a newcategory of space "Occupant Storage" andexcluding it from the Rentable Area of thebuilding.

Method A and Method B

The 20 I0 Standard requires users to choosebetween two methods of measurement.Method A, the Legacy Method, addresses theproblems outlined above in the 1996Standard, but otherwise is effectivelyidentical to the 1996 Standard. Method B,the Single Load Factor Method, allows asingle gross up (load factor) to be applied toall occupiers of space in the building. Theresult is that, regardless of what floor atenant is on, its Usable Area is grossed up bythe same factor as the Usable Areas on everyother floor in the building. Industrymembers felt that the introduction of a singleload factor method would allow for moreeffective marketing and administration ofleases.

Since a single load factor, or gross up factor,is used throughout the building underMethod B and since, under this method,Occupant Storage areas are also excludedfrom the Rentable Area of the building, theproblems identified in connection with the1996 Standard that are solved under MethodA are also solved under Method B.

In order to establish a single load factorapplicable on all floors of the building,Method B introduces a new class of space,"Base Building Circulation". It assumesthat Base Building Circulation exists on allfloors whether they have multiple occupants

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or a single occupant. Base Building Circulationis a hypothetical corridor and/or lobby identifiedfor each floor regardless of occupancy orphysical conditions. It is the minimum pathnecessary for access and egress to and fromthe Occupant Areas, stairs, escalator andelevator, rest rooms, janitor closets and watercoolers, required refuge areas, life safetyequipment and building service, and amenityareas. The same hypothetical Base BuildingCirculation is allocated proportionately to allfloors using a single load factor. Similarly, thetotal of Building Common Areas (which areredefined as "Building Service and AmenityAreas") is allocated proportionately to allOccupant Areas using a single load factor.

The 2010 Standard also makes provision forcapped load factors so that a building owner,wishing to make its building more marketable,may cap the load factor for all rentable spacewithin the building.

Drafting Tip

When using the new 20 10 Standard, it isessential to identify whether the Method A(Legacy Method) or Method B (Single LoadFactor Method) is to be used. A recommendedcitation would appear as "20 I0 BOMA OfficeBuilding Standard, Method A" or "2010 BOMAOffice Building Standard, Method B."

It is also important to note that this new standardis not intended to be used to measure retailbuildings, industrial buildings or multi-unitresidential buildings. Separate measurementstandards for retail and industrial buildings havebeen published and are available from BOMA.

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