2013 Property Manager of the Year Susan Hammer

Susan Hammer, General Manager with Riverview Realty Partners at the AMA Plaza, was the recipient of the 2013 Gold Circle Awards Property Manager of the Year.

How did you get involved in the commercial real estate industry? I became involved completely by accident.  I needed a job, and I found one at a company which owned and managed real estate. Within a year, I was managing five suburban properties for them – two office buildings, two shopping centers, and one industrial property. 我立即考取了房地产许可证和房地产管理员的职位.  Needless to say, I was hooked on the profession.

Tell us about one of your recent accomplishments at your building. 由于物业管理行业涉及多个学科，很难用一个词或短语来描述, 当建筑物的所有单一成就的总和导致入住率和价值增加时，也很难谈论一项成就. 在18个月的时间跨度内，我们完成了大规模的重建，包括:

• demolishing existing conditions
• mechanical system upgrades of almost every component
• elevator modernization
• curtain wall glazing unit replacements
• new roofing, including a vegetated roof

The redevelopment included oversight of over 600,000 square feet of new tenant space improvements and met all occupancy deadlines, 与十大网赌靠谱网址平台朗廷酒店合作建设酒店以及必要的系统和操作接口, and maintained relationships and communications avenues with the existing tenants. We are now 96% occupied, and the building is a world-class model of success.

您认为商业楼宇物业管理公司在未来几年需要解决哪些挑战?一个迫在眉睫的挑战是拟议中的房地产税上调，以及这将如何影响伦敦金融城吸引企业的能力，以及它可能对建筑价值和投资者风险产生的影响. 业主和管理人员应支持BOMA/十大网赌靠谱网址平台为减轻商业物业业主日益增加的负担所作的努力. In the meantime, 管理人员应该开始计划如何通过节省运营费用或创造其他收入来源来缓解这种增长.

在你成为BOMA/Chicago会员的过程中，哪些经历对你来说最突出? Through the support and programs offered through BOMA/Chicago over the years, I have been able to enhance my knowledge, experience, 培训以及与其他经理和供应商建立有价值的关系.

I am fortunate to be a member of the BOMA/Chicago faculty, 在RPA和高性能轨道上教授几门课程，并教授房地产管理基础课程.  我很高兴能够告诉别人我所知道的，并听取学生对问题的新观点. 我想不出比指导下一代房地产专业人士更令人满意的出路了. 我也很高兴能够参与BOMA/十大网赌靠谱网址平台奖学金项目——RPA指定奖学金和包容与拓展奖学金，这两个项目都为致力于物业管理领域的人提供支持，以实现房地产管理员指定.

What piece of advice would you share with our emerging leaders? First, it goes without saying that people just starting out in the industry should learn as much as possible about the industry itself; the buildings, the operations and systems within the building, as well as the people who are necessary to run and tenant the building.  And then, when you have that down, 可能是时候重新开始了，因为随着技术进步或劳动力动态，建筑会发生变化, 房地产专业人士必须准备好实施和调整他们的建筑和运营，以满足新的需求，以保持竞争力.

Second, don’t limit your knowledge to the small world of real estate.  It is equally important to be current on local, state, regional, national and international news and economic events. Listen to the news, read the newspaper, 了解历史十大网赌靠谱网址——无论是发生在昨天还是300年前——是如何影响今天的十大网赌靠谱网址的. It is important to be knowledgeable in current events to become a well-rounded person, 但也要明白世界上正在发生的事情可能会以某种方式影响房地产. For example, 不可避免的房地产税增加将如何影响你的财产和十大网赌靠谱网址平台的商业房地产, when will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates and what effect will that have, and how will the recent Chines market slide impact American real estate.

Another important piece of advice I would share is be constantly creative and innovative and keep evolving; don’t be satisfied to implement the same things year after year. 每天以某种方式将你自己和你的大楼分开——无论是你如何与租户沟通，还是你如何让整个大楼的租户参与慈善活动.

Finally, be sure to tell us experienced professionals what you want us to know.  我们喜欢对老问题有新的看法，也喜欢帮助我们看到明天会发生什么. 这种熟练的经验与现代和原创的观念的结合将导致建筑团队的胜利组合.

What are some of the CRE trends you’re seeing that interest you the most? 建筑团队需要继续成为办公楼可持续性和节能的倡导者, and through that philosophy, develop, promote, 通过创新和负责任的建筑操作，实施环境可持续发展和节约能源的措施. The next step is not only to consider operations, 但是，为了创造一个真正的高性能建筑，你要沉浸在与租户和员工的合作中. 我有兴趣继续利用创新和集成的建筑过程和技术工具来驱动性能和检索数据, 同时也为租户和他们的员工创造一个更健康、更令人满意的工作环境. The wellness approach can be related to amenities such as fitness centers, business lounges, and healthy food services, but also should be focused on the entire office environment including air quality, thermal comfort and ventilation, acoustics, and even safety. Through this approach building staffs can not only meet operational needs, 他们还可以降低成本，改善租户的工作条件，这将有助于他们招募和留住优质工人，提高生产力. 正在开发数据模型来衡量办公环境中的生产力，这将是衡量成功和留住租户的重要组成部分.

What would you like to do in your life that you haven’t done so far?I seem to always want to do this during an election cycle more than any other time, 但我想成为一名十大网赌靠谱网址分析师，撰写有思想的文章，并在受人尊敬的十大网赌靠谱网址节目中担任嘉宾.  I would also like to be a political strategist for a candidate seeking a top office.  If that doesn’t work, out, then I would like to be a rock star, but they don’t appear to be taking applications.