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NEWS

WINTER 2021

By Lloyd Suchet, Executive Director, BOMA Calgary

Enhancing the Value Proposition

To say 2021 had its ups and downs would be a tremendous understatement. If 2020 was the year of the “pivot”, 2021 was something different entirely as we as Calgarians and Albertans experienced something of a roller coaster ride. As the representative body for the industry, we at BOMA have sought to provide value to our members, and to provide them with timely and relevant programming to support the work they do. We operate under three key pillars: education, advocacy, and professional networking.

While the educational line-up in 2020 was more focused on the adapting buildings for a COVID-19 world, 2021 saw a return to more typical sessions as we hosted development updates on exciting projects from across the city, including Tsuu Tina’s ambitious Taza developments, as well as Aspen’s redevelopment project in the Ampersand. Health and safety also remained a priority as sessions touched on such key topics as Managing Indoor Air Quality, and Strategies for Managing Stress in Challenging Times, where participants were introduced to management frameworks to support their teams and their tenants. We also hosted engaging discussions with key decision makers like the Honourable Doug Schweitzer, Alberta Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation, and Susan Henry, Chief at the Calgary Emergency Management Agency. Finally, in an exciting first, together with BOMA British Columbia and BOMA Manitoba we offered a joint educational series focusing on leadership development. This was an opportunity not only to further careers, but also to engage with industry professionals from other markets and is something we look forward to offering more of going forward.

These unprecedented times have also meant an unprecedented level of cooperation and partnership with all levels of government has been necessary to ensure we can effectively represent our members and the community’s best interests. That is why from early on BOMA Calgary was at the table as the City of Cal-

If 2020 was the year of the “pivot”, 2021 was something different entirely as we as Calgarians and Albertans experienced something of a roller coaster ride.

BOMA Calgary News

BOMA Calgary News is a co-publication of BOMA Calgary and Business in Calgary.

Business in Calgary

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BOMA Calgary

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Executive Officers

CHAIR Richard Morden, QuadReal Property Group CHAIR-ELECT Rob Blackwell, Aspen Properties SECRETARY TREASURER Candace Walker, Triovest Realty Advisors PAST CHAIR Lee Thiessen, MNP LLP

Directors

Aaron Pratt, Allied Properties REIT Art Skow Blair Carbert, Carbert Waite LLP Carla Fedele, Choice Properties Dan Lindsay Kevin Morgans, Avison Young Tanya Befus, Cadillac Fairview

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Calgary publishes BOMA Calgary News quarterly. For advertising rates and information contact Business in Calgary. Publication of advertising should not be deemed as endorsement by BOMA Calgary. The publisher reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to reject any advertising at any time submitted by any party. Material contained herein does not necessarily reflect the opinion of BOMA Calgary, its members or its staff.

© 2015 by BOMA Calgary. Printed in Canada.

gary developed the Greater Downtown Plan - an ambitious document that charts a path to revitalizing and renewing our downtown core. Included in this plan is the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program that offers grants to convert vacant office space into residential and other uses. We also continued to advocate for the Green Line LRT project as it faced final approvals from both the City and the Province, and were pleased to see it receive broad support and government approval. As the City and Council shifted focus towards the recent municipal election, BOMA Calgary and our partners ensured that our members and our industry had a voice in the democratic process as candidates sought support and votes. While we hosted numerous sessions with candidates, our election work was capped off with the very successful VibrantYYC Mayoral debate co-hosted by ourselves, the Calgary Downtown Association, Arts Commons, and Creative Calgary. Through this debate we engaged the Mayoral front runners on key issues around downtown renewal, taxation, economic growth, public safety, and how the arts and real estate communities can partner in enhancing the vibrancing of our neighbourhoods.

We also further our engagement with the Provincial government, and early in the year commenced high level meetings with provincial officials including Jobs, Economy, and Innovation Minister Schweitzer to update them on the state of the commercial real estate sector and to identify areas of collaboration.

Finally, the COVID-19 Pandemic brought with it significant new programming from the Federal government that has major impacts on the industry, particularly the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program (CECRA), and its successor the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) that provided rent support to commercial tenants. From early on an industry coalition that included BOMA, NAIOP, and RealPAC engaged with federal officials to share concerns and potential areas for improvement within the program, especially the need to make supports more broadly available to hard-hit tenants. While our advocacy has yielded some results, we remained steadfast in our commitment to work with the federal government to improve the programs, including seeking retroactive changes to support a stronger economic recovery.

The third pillar, professional networking, has clearly been the most difficult to deliver on in times of social distancing and gathering restrictions, but with some creativity and the hard work of staff and volunteers we were able to bring together industry members. In the spring, young professionals from BOMA Calgary and BOMA Vancouver got together virtually for a Tropical Staycation Trivia event that built industry connections in a fun and relaxed event. But perhaps the networking highlight of the year was the successful running of the Bee-Clean BOMA Golf Classic and Kananaskis, the Crown Jewel on our social calendar! Two groups of 144 golfers each joined us in Septemberwhere we were able to finally convene the industry together for a day of building connections with colleagues both old and new, and of course golf and plenty of sun.

So while 2021 challenged us all in new and different ways that before, the industry and its professionals continue to rise to the challenge with that trademark perseverance and hard work. We at BOMA thank you not just for the work you do day in and day out to support your tenants, but for continuing to support BOMA Calgary in our mission to further your organizations, your careers, and the industry at large.