Equity Office & Trammell Crow Co. (tie) After selecting Equity Office as 2000's Top REIT, it was hard to ignore the company in the Top Office category. As noted in the REIT category, Equity Office is the largest publicly held owner and manager of office properties in the United States. Its U.S. portfolio consists of 293 buildings containing nearly 77 million sq. ft. of space in 23 states and the District of Columbia. In 1999, Equity Office reported total revenues of more than $1.9 million. The company continues to acquire properties and to create innovative lease products for its tenants, of which more are sure to come since its tagline, launched last year, is "Redefining the Workplace. Together."
Tom Bakke, vice president marketing and leasing, accepted the award on behalf of Equity Office.
Also winning in the Top Office category was Trammell Crow Co. Once billed as America's largest real estate developer, Trammell Crow Co. is now one of the country's largest real estate services providers - a shift that started in 1991 with the downturn in the real estate market and the upturn in the bottom-line value of corporate real estate. The company's 170 offices in the United States and Canada deliver management services, transaction services, and development and project management services to corporate and institutional customers. At year-end 1999, TCC was providing services to approximately 600 investor/owners of office, industrial and retail real estate, nearly 20,000 tenants and 85 corporate outsourcing customers who occupy more than 500 million sq. ft. Customers include Microsoft Corp., General Motors, Burnham Pacific Properties and Florida Power & Light.
Three years ago, Trammell Crow Co. raised $93 million in an IPO. Last year, the company completed a secondary offering of 5.12 million shares. Its revenues for 1999 were $687 million, which represents an increase of 119% over 1998's total.
TCC's growth has been impressive in each line of its business:
* Management Services, including facilities management for corporate clients, posted an 88% growth in income before tax from 1998 to 1999;
* Transaction Services reported a 242% growth in revenues over the past five years. These services include tenant representation, investment sales, listings and land sales;
* Development & Project Management Services broke ground in 1999 on development projects valued at $1.8 billion, a 38% increase over 1998 development starts of $1.3 billion.
Chris Roth, regional president, accepted on behalf of Trammell Crow Co.