K.E.E.P. Awards

Developed in 2016 by AOBA’s Emergency Preparedness Committee, the Knowledge and Excellence in Emergency Preparedness, K.E.E.P. Awards,  recognize AOBA-member property management teams that demonstrate excellence in emergency preparedness, planning, communication, response, and recovery.

Emergency preparedness is more than a written plan. It is the ability to anticipate risk, coordinate teams, protect tenants and occupants, communicate clearly, and keep buildings operating through disruption.

The K.E.E.P. Awards celebrate teams that take this responsibility seriously and show what strong preparedness looks like in action.

Teams Who Lead Before, During, and After Disruption

AOBA is looking for property teams that go beyond basic compliance and demonstrate thoughtful, practical, and effective emergency preparedness. Strong submissions may highlight:

• Comprehensive emergency preparedness plans
• Staff training, drills, tabletop exercises, or tenant education
• Communication strategies before, during, and after an incident
• Coordination with vendors, public safety partners, tenants, ownership, or neighboring properties
• Response to severe weather, civil unrest, infrastructure disruption, public health issues, security incidents, utility outages, or other operational challenges
• Lessons learned and improvements made after an event or exercise
• Creative approaches that strengthen safety, continuity, and resilience

This award recognizes the teams that plan ahead, respond with confidence, and continue raising the standard for building operations across the region.

Eligibility

To be eligible, submissions must:

• Be submitted by a current AOBA member company
• Represent a property management team
• Demonstrate effective emergency preparedness planning, implementation, response, or improvement
• Include enough detail for judges to understand the challenge, the team’s approach, and the impact of the work

Steps to Submission

Step 1: Review Your Team’s Preparedness Efforts
Consider the plans, processes, training, communication tools, partnerships, and real-world responses that best demonstrate your team’s preparedness.

Step 2: Prepare Your Nomination
Gather supporting information that tells the full story. Strong nominations should explain what your team did, why it mattered, who was involved, and how the effort improved safety, communication, operations, or resilience.

Step 3: Submit Your Nomination
Complete the nomination form by the deadline. Once submitted, nominations will be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals.

Step 4: Judging Process
Judges will evaluate submissions based on planning, execution, innovation, communication, team coordination, impact, and overall preparedness.

Step 5: Winners Recognized
K.E.E.P. nominees and recipients will be honored at AOBA’s Commercial Awards Celebration.

Current Timeline

• June 1, 2026: Nominations open
• December 15, 2026: Submission deadline
• January 5, 2027 – February 9, 2027: Judging period
• February 19, 2027: Commercial Awards Celebration

Past Award Recipients

2024

Stream Realty Partners: 740 15th Street, Washington, DC

Stream Realty Partners: 801 17th Street, Washington, DC

2023

JBG SMITH: 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Washington, DC

Brookfield Properties: 655 New York Avenue, Washington, DC

JBG SMITH: 1900 N Street NW, Washington, DC

2021

American Real Estate Partners: 1625 I Street NW, Washington, DC

2019

Blake Real Estate:  1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC

Stream Realty Partners:  803 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC

2018 

Cushman and Wakefield: 455 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

MRP Real Estate Services Group LLC: 3000 & 3050 K Street, Washington Harbour

Brookfield Properties: 2001 M Street, NW, Washington, DC

2017 

Brookfield Properties: 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 

Vornado/Charles E. Smith: 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC

Vornado/Charles E. Smith: 2345 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA

2016

Brookfield Properties: 1200 K Street, NW, Washington, DC

Vornado/Charles E. Smith: 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Vornado/Charles E. Smith:  1101 17^th Street, NW, Washington, DC