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In 2010, BOMA released "Retail Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.5-2010)." Although the BOMA 1980 and 1996 Office Standards included provisions for retail spaces (Store Area) in office buildings, the 2010 Retail Standard was the first BOMA Standard specifically dedicated to retail buildings; such as, big box, shopping malls, strip plazas and outparcel tenancies.
The BOMA 2010 Retail Standard does not include a proportionate allocation of common areas to the occupants (known as a gross-up or load factor), instead focusing predominantly on determining the occupant's Gross Leasable Areas. The Standard goes into considerable depth to define the extents of Gross Leasable Area including the building perimeter, measure line and lease line (among others). In the most general terms, the Gross Area of an Occupant is measured to the exterior face of most walls, except for demising walls which are measured to the centerline. The Retail Standard also provides specific direction for other common retail building elements like mezzanines, kiosks, food courts and parking.
In 2020, BOMA International released a newer and significantly more comprehensive version of the retail standard, known as "BOMA 2020 For Retail Properties, Standard Method of Measurement - ANSI/BOMA Z65.5-2020." This latest version of the BOMA Retail Standard follows the BOMA 2017 Office Standard and BOMA 2019 Industrial Standard in its progressive formatting, text and illustrations.
The BOMA 2020 Retail Standard builds on and adds much needed clarity to many of the concepts of its predecessor, but includes some significant new features of its own. Key among these new features is the ability to perform either a Partial Measurement or Overall Measurement of a retail property. Although it is recommended to measure a retail building in its entirety, this new feature reduces the burden that may be associated with measuring an entire building, by allowing a minimum of one retail unit to be measured.
The latest BOMA 2020 Retail Standard also allows for the inclusion of Unenclosed Areas that are a component of the "Retail Experience", which is a new concept in the BOMA 2020 Retail Standard. This means that not only does this retail standard now accommodate outdoor shopping malls, but it also helps the Landlord budget for other outdoor amenities that many retail buildings offer.
One of the most interesting new features of the BOMA 2020 Retail Standard is the ability to determine a proportionate allocation of Parking Areas, Major Vertical Penetrations, and Service and Public Areas (known as Gross Leasable Exclusions) according to the occupant's Gross Leasable Areas, using Inter-Building Area calculations. It's important to note, however, that this proportionate allocation is not a "gross-up" or "load factor" that is directly applied to the Gross Leasable Areas, but instead, are standalone areas associated with individual occupants in order to aid the landlord with the business-related activities and cost structures that occur in a retail setting; such as tax related expenditures, CAM charges and other maintenance related expenses.
Extreme Measures is the editor and illustrator of the BOMA 2020 Retail Standard.