13 CRE Firms Form Tech Consortium

Thirteen leading commercial property companies have signed an agreement to establish Office Technology Consortium "to improve business processes, drive tenant values, and strive to improve industry service standards." The founding members of the consortium are: Boston Properties, Brookfield Properties Corp., CarrAmerica Realty Corp., Crescent Real Estate Equities Co., Duke-Weeks Realty Corp., Highwoods Realty LP, Hines, Mack-Cali Realty Corp., Oxford Properties Group, Prentiss Properties Trust, Shorenstein Co., TrizecHahn Office Properties, and Vornado Realty Trust. These companies own or manage over 400 million square feet of office space in North America on a combined basis. Initially, the consortium will concentrate on two key initiatives: the first will be an online "Landlord Procurement Exchange" aimed at lowering landlord and tenant operating costs and increasing rental value; the second will be an online "Leasing Exchange" that will enable customers to make informed leasing decisions.