Some of Canada’s top commercial buildings were highlighted by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada) at its annual BOMEX conference in Halifax last week, recognizing the properties that excel in building services, tenant relations, sustainability and more.

The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) awards, the most prestigious of the event, went to 15 assets across a range of building types and sizes. The TOBY winners must be BOMA BEST-certified and hold a BOMA 360 designation.

BOMA Canada also named the winners of its Pinnacle Awards for companies that demonstrate excellence in innovation, teamwork, and outstanding service and commitment to clients; individual awards; the BOMA BEST Prestige Awards; and the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Challenge Award.

TOBY award winners

Pacific Blue Cross’s office in Burnaby, B.C. took home the TOBY for corporate facility. The building won a TOBY in 2022 for the same category.

25 King St. W in Toronto won the award for a historical building. The 245,000-square-foot building is located in the city’s financial district.

The TOBY for best industrial building was given to the Transport Depot Business Park in Edmonton. There is over 500,000 square feet of space across four of its depots.

For best renovated building, the TOBY was awarded to 55 University Ave. in Toronto. The 18-storey tower has 264,183 square feet of space.

Retail

The TOBY in the open air/strip mall category was awarded to Taunton Gardens in Whitby, Ont. The commercial asset has Winners, Farm Boy, LA Fitness, Home Depot and Wild Fork as anchor tenants.

The award for an enclosed mall under one million square feet was given to Park Place Shopping Centre in Lethbridge, Alta. The mall has 472,908 square feet of gross leasable area. Park Place received the BOMA BEST Spotlight Award 2024 for its sustainable features such as a recycling and waste management plan program and efforts to conserve water and energy.

For an enclosed mall over one million square feet, BOMA Canada awarded Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto. The asset has approximately 1.6 million square feet of gross leasable area.

Office

The TOBY for mid-rise suburban office park went to Winston Park in Oakville, Ont. Consisting of three buildings (2010, 2020, 2060 Winston Park Dr.), there is over 300,000 square feet of floor space in the park.

On the smaller end, the TOBY for an office under 100,000 square feet was given to the 54,350-square-foot Lightworks Building in Vancouver.

For an office building from 100,000 to 249,999 square feet, the TOBY went to 11th Avenue Place in Calgary. The 414,015-square-foot Watermark Tower, another Calgary building, won the award for an office between 250,000 and 499,999 square feet.

The winner in the office category from 500,000 to under 1 million square feet was Jamieson Place. The 38-storey tower in downtown Calgary has 810,000 square feet of floor space.

In the largest category of office buildings — over one million square feet — the winner was First Canadian Place in Toronto. It is a tower with almost 2.2 million square feet of office space and 236,000 square feet of retail space.

Life sciences, medical

The Forensics Services and Coroner’s Complex in Toronto won the TOBY in the life sciences category. The approximately 550,000-square-foot building houses the Office of the Chief Coroner, the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and the Centre of Forensic Sciences.

In the category for medical buildings, the 130,388-square-foot Crestpoint R.E. property located at 1929 Bayview Ave. in Toronto took home the award.