Stepping up security

Building owners and managers have taken appropriate measures without overreacting to the terrorist acts committed last September. A recent survey commissioned by the Building Owners and Managers Association International and the Urban Land Institute reports that while building owners and managers have tightened security systems and procedures, few have made sweeping changes, thanks to emergency preparedness plans in place prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Many survey respondents beefed up existing security by increasing security personnel, adding security cameras, and enforcing existing policies without exceptions. The security measure most frequently added after September 11 was closer scrutiny of vendors. Many building owners required more-stringent vendor identification, vendor check-in, and requested vendors to perform employee background checks. The least-employed post-September 11 security change was adding perimeter barriers, added by less than 6% of respondents.

Fewer than 12% of respondents consider terrorist attacks a potential threat, while 56.9% expressed concern over fire safety.

About one-third of participants indicated that safety concerns would influence their decisions to develop or acquire an office building, with building location cited as the most common worry among that group.

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