Zero Energy Rec Center Lands in Southwest Suburbs
It only makes sense that an organization dedicated to parks should try its hardest to be environmentally responsible. In southwest suburban Plainfield, the park district has opened a new Net Zero community building. PARC (Courtesy of Wight & Company) It’s called PARC, which stands for Prairie Activity and Recreation Center, and is located in a park: Gregory B. Bott Park. The facility sports an oversized gymnasium, a fitness...
New Chicago Office Building to be Aggressive on Being Passive
An ecological building idea born in the United States in the 1970’s, then refined in the colder regions of Europe in the 2000’s, is coming home to Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. The new building being put up by Gold Coast real estate developer Mark Goodman & Associates at 310 North Sangamon Street is going to be the largest “passive house” office building in the nation. “Passive...
Want to Swim in the Chicago River? Then Use Your Voice
Regional governments and quangos are coming together with a plan called Great Rivers Chicago to clean up, take back, and otherwise return the waterways of Chicagoland to recreational use. We’ve discussed this on and off over the years as bits of the plan have been revealed. Now it’s your turn to discuss it. There will be a public meeting Thursday, February 16th at the Chicago Maritime Museum in Bridgeport (1200 West 35th...
Building With Dark History on Path to Becoming a Landmark
In this age when so many people have lost faith in government, it can be hard to believe, but sometimes the system works. Case in point: 161 East Grand Avenue, the former Lindsay Light Building. Over the summer the owner of the building applied for a demolition permit in order to turn the four-story building into a pile of rubble. Or perhaps to let someone else do it, because at the time, the building was being shopped around as a...
River North’s Parc Huron Earns Top Honors For Energy Efficiency
The luxury rental highrise Parc Huron this week earned a top honor for its energy efficiency. The River North structure at 469 W. Huron Street received the Energy Star certification from the EPA. Previously, Parc Huron had already earned its stripes for environmental design. It was the first rental highrise in the state to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Parc Huron opened in 2010 and was designed...
Two Minutes of Testa’s Turbine
When you think of the Back of the Yards neighborhood, fascinating views may not be the first thing on your mind. But YouTuber Roman Alfredo brought his quadcopter over to the Testa Produce warehouse at 4555 South Racine Avenue and took a close-up tour of the company’s iconic power turbine. Location: 4555 South Racine Avenue, Back of the...
A Big Brown Downtown Tower is Also Chicago’s Greenest
Chicago’s last two mayors have both had the stated goal of making Chicago one of the world’s greenest cities. It’s quite a shift for a metropolis that gave us Bubbly Creek and drinking water so putrid a river had to be reversed to keep everyone from dying. As they used to say back when cigarette commercials were still on television, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” In June of 2012, Mayor Rahm...
73 East Lake Shines Like LEED Gold
Downtown Chicago is starting to bristle with shiny new skyscrapers, and one of the shiniest and newest is 73 East Lake. The 42-story tower boasts a prime location, 332 residences, and now LEED Gold status. Check the press release below for details. 73 East Lake Luxury Rental Earns LEED Gold, Tops 60 Percent Leased CHICAGO (Thursday, September 18, 2014) – 73 East Lake, a 42-story apartment building in Chicago’s East Loop, has been...
How One of Chicago’s Award-Winning Buildings, And A Family’s Memories, Disappeared Overnight
One week ago, a couple of buildings at 849 West Armitage Avenue were smashed to bits. I snuck through the surrounding fence on Saturday morning to survey the rubble. There was some mangled, twisted cable and other detritus. It bore no resemblance to the studio that once stood there. Until recently, the 2,500-square-foot property was the home and workplace of architect Howard Alan. The rear building was unusual looking, and innovative...
Chicago Group Finds New Purposes For the City’s Old Office Furniture
Some years back, I had a rickety old bookshelf. It was poorly constructed and listed badly to the left. Reluctantly, I took it out to the sidewalk for the trash guys but they never got the chance. It was gone within an hour. Whoever took that bookshelf saw it as a treasure or perhaps had the carpentry skills I lacked to fix it up. I unwittingly participated in an age-old and simple form of recycling that occurs daily in neighborhoods...
