One grim change Kauffman notes is on building evacuation. "Typically if something were to happen on the upper floors of a tower," he begins, "then the lower floors would be evacuated. Now, most plans have been reassessed to plan for evacuating away from a building."

Aside from emergencies, Kauffman says the three hottest topics among Puget Sound owners and managers are: transportation, regulatory issues and utility rates. "Both locally and statewide, transportation is woefully inadequate to service the economy we all want to see. We need mobility and capacity improvements," bemoans Kauffman. "As an organization representing the office market, we are encouraging our lawmakers to get on the road to permanent financing and solutions to the problems."

To BOMA, the methods of funding transportation improvements are as crucial as the problem itself. "We support a reasonable gas tax, but it's important the legislature sell the idea of the benefits to residents. I'm worried not about the bill getting put together, but on whether or not it's effectively marketed," says Kauffman.