Grubb & Ellis receives 2 TOBY awards. (Transcripts).

Grubb & Ellis Company, one of the leading providers of integrated real estate services, announced that BOMA has awarded it two "Office Building of the Year" awards for buildings it manages in Connecticut for Aetna Inc., one of the nation's leading providers of health care and related group benefits. The awards were presented at a ceremony on Jan. 8.

The Office Building of the Year ("TOBY") Award is the most prestigious and comprehensive program of its kind in the commercial real estate industry, recognizing excellence in building management, operating efficiency, tenant retention, emergency planning and community impact. A "Historical Building" Category award was presented to Grubb & Ellis for Aetna's Home Office in Hartford, the Rogers Building at 151 Farmington Ave., an 11-story, 993,000-SF structure on approximately 36 acres. A "Renovated" Category award was presented for the Windsor Building and Fleet Bank renovation at 575 Pigeon Hill Road in Windsor, a fourstory, 607,000-SF structure on 75 acres.

"While we are honored to receive these awards, we truly share them with Aetna, as they are testimony to the investments Aetna has wisely made over the years in its building infrastructure and maintenance programs," noted Maureen Ehrenberg, president of Grubb & Ellis Management Services. "We are fortunate to have the resources available to maintain these facilities at award winning levels. Aetna is celebrating 150 years as a company in 2003, and we are delighted to partner with this renowned organization."

In the Tri-State Area, Grubb & Ellis manages more than 30 million SF of a full spectrum of client facilities. The firm is also a national leader in providing facility management services to raised-floor data centers, with more than 3 million SF under management for business leaders in such industries as information services, institutional and consumer finance, insurance, global products manufacturing, national transportation networks, telecommunications and global technology services. "These are only the latest in a continuing series of TOBY and other awards that Grubb & Ellis continues to capture nationwide," said Ehrenberg.

"This competition represents a real win: the Hartford Chapter of BOMA sent three principal members to conduct a detailed audit of these buildings as well as other buildings submitted in both categories," said David Flynn, senior vice president, national accounts for Grubb & Ellis Management Services. "We were surprised and delighted that both of our nominations were winners. We understand that the review committee was impressed with our strategic initiatives, our documentation and the quality of the maintenance and upkeep," he said.

The Grubb & Ellis Management Services team serving Aetna include Ronald Macklin, vice president and director of management services in Connecticut; David Rainone, account executive; John Brodeur, facilities manager for both locations and James Bell, manager of operations.