FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Local Building Win TOBY Regional Awards!

Farmington Hills, Mich., January 31, 2005– Now in its 21st year, The Office Building of the Year “TOBY” Award is the most prestigious, comprehensive program of its kind in the commercial real estate industry, created to recognize quality in office buildings and award excellence in office building management. The Building Owners and Managers Association of Metropolitan Detroit (BOMA) recently announced the 2004-2005 winners of The Regional TOBY Awards. The winners include: Franklin Center Office Building, Southfield; and Top of Troy, Troy.

In the first round of the TOBY Awards, at the local level, Franklin Center Office Building in Southfield took first place in the “Under 100,000 Square Foot” category as Building of the Year and Top of Troy in Troy was named first in the “Renovated Building” category. The buildings went on to win in the same categories at the North Central regional level competing against entries from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

All facets of a building’s operations are thoroughly evaluated during the judging process, including tenant relations programs, community involvement, emergency preparedness and security standards, and continuing education for building personnel. Floor plans, site plans, and photographs round out an in-depth portfolio, providing the judges with an extensive examination of the building. “TOBY winners represent the commercial real estate industry’s best of the best in office management setting; the benchmark for the industry,” said Janet Langlois-Resto, Executive Director, BOMA of Metropolitan Detroit.The winners from the BOMA Detroit Regional TOBY awards will move on to the BOMA International competition scheduled for June 25-28, 2005, in Anaheim, CA.

Under 100,000 Square Foot category:
First Place Winner: Franklin Center Office Building located in Southfield, owned by Franklin Center Associates, LLC. Managed by Etkin Management, LLC.
Property Manager: Enid Castora

Renovated Building category:
First Place Winner: Top of Troy located in Troy, owned TTERTT Associates, LLC dba Top of Troy. Managed by Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc.
Property Manager: Timothy J. Grimske
Architect: Rossetti
Renovation Architect: Yamasaki Associates

Founded in 1908, BOMA of Metropolitan Detroit is a professional, nonprofit trade association whose nearly 400 members either own or manage commercial real estate, or provide goods and services to the industry. BOMA Michigan members represent organizations managing more than 250 million square feet of office and industrial space, with employees and tenants totaling more than 1.25 million people in Michigan. BOMA of Metro Detroit provides commercial real estate professionals the opportunity to work together for professional growth, advocacy rights, corporate profit, and the benefit of the nine Southeastern Michigan communities it serves. For more information on BOMA and membership, visit www.bomadet.org.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Pictures of the winning buildings available at www.bomadet.org.