Ladies and Gentlemen, plan your evening attire! The industry’s most prestigious awards gala is coming again to Toronto on February 24, 2009.

The annual Toronto NAIOP Real Estate Excellence (REX) Awards evening is the premier event of the season for those of us in the office and industrial real estate industry in the Greater Toronto Area. It’s the awards show and dinner gala where we recognize and honour our peers who have earned the status of “Best of the Year” in six team award categories plus we honour the recipients of three very special individual awards.   

The awards event as we know it today grew out of Toronto NAIOP’s recognition program which, between 1995 and 2000, was a hugely successful Luncheon event designed to annually honour a deserving industry leader. In 2001, the Board of Directors decided to expand the program and in keeping with the association’s mission to provide recognition for outstanding achievement in the industry it has become a black-tie and evening gown affair unrivalled in the industry for its magnitude, significance and blue-chip attendance. The REX Awards Gala blends elegance and ceremony with a unique networking opportunity that brings together NAIOP members, our valued corporate sponsors, and friends of NAIOP for an exhilarating evening of celebration and community building.

Toronto NAIOP is now accepting submissions for the 2008 “Best of the Year” team awards in all six categories: Industrial Development, Office Development, Industrial Lease, Office Lease, Investment Deal and the Green Award. Submissions will be judged and winners selected by independent experts in a balloting process administered by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. 

Additionally, the REX Awards include individual honourary awards for Lifetime Achievement and Community Service. The final award, in the individual category of Developing Leaders, was introduced to the recognition program in 2007 and is given to NAIOP members, 35 years or under, who distinguish themselves with great promise as leaders in the commercial real estate industry. One or more Developing Leaders Awards may be available in any given year. The recipients of all individual awards are selected by a panel of Toronto NAIOP Directors and Past Presidents.

True to the spirit of honouring achievement, the REX Awards also serves as a forum for Toronto NAIOP to recognize and support the efforts of a deserving charity. This year’s selected charity again is the Geneva Centre for Autism.  A significant portion of the proceeds from the REX Gala will be donated to help fund the Geneva Centre’s critically important programs that assist individuals with autism and their families to fully participate in their communities.