NAI Hiffman achieves WELL Health-Safety Rating for 14 Chicago-area office buildings

From the RE Journals article published July 7, 2021:

NAI Hiffman, the Midwest’s largest independent real estate services firm, today announced it submitted information for and secured the WELL Health-Safety Rating for 15 office buildings under its management. Fourteen of the properties are located in Chicago’s suburbs – the highest number of certifications secured by a single management firm in the region – while the other is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. In all, the WELL-certified buildings total more than 3.5 million square feet of office space.

“The WELL Health-Safety Rating is critical to return-to-workplace strategies because it helps reassure building occupants that the appropriate steps have been taken to reduce the risk of transmitting not only COVID-19, but also other infectious diseases,” said Carrie Szarzynski, director of management services for NAI Hiffman. “After researching third-party certifications, we felt the WELL Health-Safety Rating was the best option for our clients because it is affordable, tangible – with an official seal posted at building entrances – and credible in that it’s based on a comprehensive set of evidence-based criteria that are part of the WELL Building Standard, which is already a leading health benchmark for our industry.

“Moreover, studies suggest WELL certification has positive long-term impacts on the building as an asset,” Szarzynski continued. “A 10-year study by Bentall Kennedy found it could lead to a 3.7% increase in rents, 6% increase in tenant retention, 5-10% increase in occupancy and 8-10% increase in overall asset value. We expect occupiers will pay even closer attention to health building certifications, including the WELL Health-Safety Rating, coming out of the pandemic.”

Properties under NAI Hiffman management earning the WELL Health-Safety Rating include:

Illinois:

·         Bannockburn Corporate Center, 3000 Lakeside Drive, Bannockburn, Ill.
·         Naperville Woods Office Center, 1000-1100 E. Warrenville Road, Naperville, Ill.
·         The Westwood, 2441-2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Ill.
·         814 Commerce Drive, Oak Brook, Ill.
·         26TWENTYFIVE, 2625 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, Ill.
·         Cornerstone Cantera, 4320 Winfield Road, Warrenville, Ill.
·         Oakbrook Gateway, 1111 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, Ill.
·         50 Northwest Point, 50 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, Ill.
·         909 Davis Building, 909 Davis St., Evanston, Ill.
·         Edens Corporate Center, 630-650 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Ill.
·         One Oakbrook Terrace, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill
·         Washington Pointe, 535 E. Diehl Road, Naperville, Ill.
·         The Reserve at Deer Park, 21440 W. Lake Cook Rd., Deer Park, Ill.

Indiana:

·         8585 Broadway, Merrillville, Ind.

Ohio:

·         90 North, 191 Rosa Parks St., Cincinnati, Ohio

Introduced by the International WELL Building Institute in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party certification of best practices in facility operation and management for mitigation of COVID-19 and improving overall building wellness. To achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating, facility owners and operators submit information on at least 15 of 22 criteria in five core areas: cleaning and sanitation, emergency preparedness, health service resources, air and water quality management, and stakeholder engagement and communication.