Bill Tracy is Principal Metrologist for Building Area Measurement, LLC. He believes that, while good design indisputably adds value to commercial properties, square footage is the foundation of real property valuation. It is the single statistic most frequently employed to quantify the magnitude of a real estate asset and has been called “the currency of real estate” because of it ubiquitous use in the planning, design, construction, operation, exchanges and leasing of buildings. Building measurement standards are therefore fundamentally important in the operation of real estate markets. Their application basically requires three competencies:

1. Understand buildings, how they work, are utilized and portrayed.

2. Access to and mastery of tools like CAD or BIM and Excel to accurately and economically determine and document floor areas.

3. The ability to apply commercial floor area measurement standards and practices.

Design professionals who deal with commercial properties already have the first two competencies and need only add the third (and easiest) in order to become the provider of choice for the most important statistical datum in real estate – the square foot. Unfortunately, there has been a vacuum of information in this area, one that Bill has set out to fill.

Since becoming licensed as an architect in 1972 and receiving an MBA from the Wharton School in 1975, Bill spent most of his professional career in large architectural firms including 18 years at Gensler, where, in the course of providing Strategic Facilities Planning services, he developed an expertise in space measurement practices and standards. He became the firm “guru” on space measurement and built a new and profitable practice within Gensler called Rentable Area Management (RAM) services. Through his participation in the firm-wide Gensler Programming and IT Task Forces, he rolled it out to many Gensler offices nation-wide.

In 2000, Bill founded Building Area Measurement LLC with the primary intention of providing a web-based resource on space measurement standards and practices for design professionals, property owners and managers, tenants, lenders, realtors, attorneys and appraisers. His web site, www.BuildingAreaMeasurement.com now averages over 4,500 visitors per month and has links from many other real estate websites. As a certified instructor for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and a provider under the AIA Continuing Education System, Bill offers a curriculum in building area measurement that is fully described on his web site. Also posted on his web site are many of Bills published articles, white papers, and full curriculum vitae.

Bill now works full time from his home office in Denver providing consulting, training, and dispute resolution services related to building area measurement standards and practices throughout North America. He has held leadership positions in the AIA including President of both AIA Colorado and AIA Denver and has received multiple awards and citations for his service to the AIA. He has trained over 500 professionals and seeks opportunities to share his expertise with others for whom knowledge of space measurement practices and standards can add value to their endeavors.