Insignia/ESG clears first Y2K hurdle.

After many months of preparation, Insignia/ESG property managers around the nation successfully put their Y2K contingency plans to the test on September 9, 1999.

Referred to as 9/9/99, this was an important date for the world's computer-based systems. It was the first major critical date when computer and micro-processor-dependent systems with embedded chips and date-sensitive software could have been affected by the Y2K bug. Building energy management, security and fire safety systems around the world had previously been identified as susceptible to disruptions on this date. In response, Insignia/ESG identified and remediated potential problems and created both building-specific and regional Y2K contingency plans.

"The 9/9/99 Y2K-critical date provided us with an opportunity to evaluate the individual readiness of every building in our managed property portfolio and to test our contingency plans in a real life situation," noted John Combs, president of U.S. Property Services for Insignia/ESG. "We are happy to report that all properties fully remediated prior to the 9/9/99 date change showed no system disruptions."

Property managers, technicians and engineers all over the United States spent the hours prior to the date change on-site, ready to implement emergency response procedures specifically designed for each building. All team members were assigned specific responsibilities and reported to regional and national information collection points for analysis. Insignia/ESG also utilized existing disaster plans similar to the earthquake models designed at the firm's California office in creating regional contingency plans to be implemented in the event of complete power failure.

"9/9/99 was a global event, not a mere computer test," said Scott R. Adams, Insignia/ESG's Risk Manager and leader of its Y2K Task Force. "Without our prior remediation efforts and comprehensive contingency plans in place, we might have seen significant system malfunctions at all property types. Thankfully, our intense preparations on behalf o f our ownership clients paid off."

Insignia/ESG is one of the largest commercial real estate services providers in the United States, with comprehensive property management, brokerage, facilities management, consulting, investment sales and debt placement operations in many of America's top markets, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Nationally, Insignia/ESG provides services for a property portfolio spanning more than 230 million square feet.