Building News

BY TANNER JOHNSTON

You would be hard-pressed to find a building with more satisfied tenants than Beaird Tower in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. That’s because Meredith Cassell, senior property manager, and Sarona Snyder, director of property management, with Vintage Realty—who have more than 25 years of experience managing Beaird Tower between them—know how to provide their tenants with an outstanding workplace environment. “We care about this building like it’s our own,” says Snyder. Their approach is paying off. In 2018, Beaird Tower had an occupancy rate of 87 percent, the second highest in its market.

The property team at Beaird Tower prioritizes constant re-evaluation of their efforts and always looks for areas for improvement. A key component of their success has been the BOMA 360 Performance Program. According to Snyder, “The BOMA 360 designation provided us with an answer to the question that is always on our minds: How can we do better?” Cassell and Snyder proudly promote their building’s achievement, with BOMA 360 logo decals displayed on their front entrance and a section on their building website highlighting their designation. They know the achievement puts them in good company: Analysis has shown that BOMA 360-designated buildings have higher tenant satisfaction scores in all 55 quantitative rating areas measured by the Kingsley IndexSM, the most comprehensive benchmarking database for tenant satisfaction.

Cassell, Snyder and the entire property team at Beaird Tower consistently go above and beyond for their tenants. From bringing in rotating food trucks to hosting seasonal events, the team works hard to anticipate the needs of their tenants and deliver the best workplace experience. Cassell also was able to contract with a mobile vehicle repair service to periodically visit the building and provide minor repair services, saving tenants time they might have spent away from work at a brick-and-mortar mechanic’s shop. Beaird Tower has the advantage of counting its own ownership among its tenants, too. “Since our owner operates in our building, he knows how important it is to invest in the building. We benefit from him experiencing everything the other tenants experience,” explains Cassell.

A comprehensive approach to tenant care, along with the distinction of the BOMA 360 designation, even allowed the team to acquire a large, full-floor law firm as a new tenant—away from a longtime competitor—in the summer of 2018. “With a soft office market like ours, we do a lot of tenant trading among our competitors. That makes keeping the tenants we have extremely important,” notes Snyder.

No matter the market, staying ahead of your competition is key, and the property team at Beaird Tower has worked hard to maintain that competitive edge with BOMA 360. Beaird Tower was the first building in its market to receive a BOMA 360 designation and the second to earn it in all of Louisiana. The team renewed its BOMA 360 designation in 2016, taking another opportunity to evaluate building operations. “The BOMA 360 designation is truly a stamp of credibility for our building and its operations,” says Cassell.