Glossary Term Defined

(Method A only) the total of occupant area and building amenity area on any floor level, and for the building.

Shall mean the measured area of an office area, store area or Building Common area on a floor. The total of all the Usable areas for a floor shall equal Floor Usable area of that same floor. 

Fully-enclosed space that is available for the exclusive use of a building occupant for personnel, materials, furniture, fixtures and equipment. Different standards measure this in different ways. Referred to in leases as The Premises.

A portion of a building where an occupant normally houses personnel, equipment, fixtures, furniture, supplies, goods or merchandise. The BOMA 2010 definition of Usable Area is the total of Occupant Area and Building Amenity Area; however, most buildings do not have Building Amenity Classification so Usable Area and Occupant Area will usually be the same number. Single Occupant Floors have effective use of the elevator lobby and any areas that would be required for corridors (hypothetical corridor) on multi-occupant floors so those areas are included in usable area for single occupant floors. Multi-Occupant Floor: The elevator lobby and hypothetical corridor are classified as Floor Service Areas on Multi-Occupant Floors. 

This method measures the actual occupiable area of a floor or an office suite and is of prime interest to a tenant in evaluating the space offered by a landlord and in allocating the space required to house personnel and furniture. The amount of Usable Area on a multi-tenant floor can vary over the life of a building as corridors expand and contract and as floors are remodeled. Usable Area on a floor can be converted to Rentable Area by the use of a conversion factor.