Overview

In 2011, BOMA released "Mixed-Use Properties: Standard Methods of Measurement (2011) or (ANSI/BOMA Z65.6-2012)."

BOMA International produced the mixed-use standard in an effort to adapt to the ongoing trend in real estate to construct multi-purpose buildings. In essence, the standard provides a methodology of connecting the existing individual standards; namely, the 2009 Gross Areas Standard, the 2010 Multi-Unit Residential Standard, the 2010 Retail Standard, the 2010 Office Standard and the 2012 Industrial Standard.

When using the mixed-use standard, each of the relevant individual standards are directly employed to each “use component” in the building. For example, if the building has an office component, a retail component and a multi-unit residential component, each corresponding BOMA standard is used in the mixed-use property.

The critical feature of the mixed use standard is the allocation of areas shared between the use components, known as “Mixed-Use Common Areas” or “MUCA”. The standard provides a rather complicated methodology of calculating such areas by incorporating the Exterior Gross Area (or EGA) in the Gross Areas Standard and making significant efforts to maintain the integrity of the individual standards applicable to the mixed-use property. This is especially evident when there is an office use component in the property since only the office standard allocates common area, and consequently, MUCA areas to tenants. Furthermore, the BOMA office standard measures to the inside finished surface (IGA) whereas the other standards measure to the equivalent of the outside finished surface (EGA). In order to account for the differences, a special “IGA/EGA Ratio” is established and applied to the office use component.