One of the services we offer is providing square footage calculations for buildings using the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) standards. Following these ensures all buildings are measured correctly and by the same set of requirements. We provide this service to building owners and tenants, so both parties can make informed decisions based on accurate and consistent information.
Without these guidelines, the meaning of common commercial real estate terms, like rentable or useable square footage, would vary from building to building or city to city. Essentially, prospective buyers wouldn’t be comparing apples to apples, as they do now.
If you’re unfamiliar with BOMA, they have set the standard for building measurement for 100 years. They first published the Standard Method of Floor Measurement for Office Buildings in 1915. To say they know a thing or two about measuring spaces is an understatement.
Over the years, they’ve revised their standard to reflect the changing needs of the real estate market and the evolution of office design. These standards were updated in 2010, so we met with our entire team to bring them up to speed on any changes.
The newest version, Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement, details a basis for uniformly measuring rentable area in both existing and new office buildings. It says to take a building-wide approach to floor area measurement and provides a methodology for measuring both occupant space, as well as areas that benefit occupants, like storage areas.
