The Colors of Autumn in Chicago From Above
Just because Christmas music has been on the radio for a week doesn’t mean we’re done with Fall yet. Just look at the tops of the eco-striving buildings across downtown Chicago and you can see green roofs turning yellow, orange, and brown faster than that old pumpkin you forgot is on your porch because you don’t go outside anymore. The chestnuts over at YoChicago! roasted these pictures from the roof of 727 West Madison. Since...
Shocking Developments at Navy Pier. If You’re a CTA Bus.
Some people are content to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic working from home in their sweatpants. Others crave returning to the office. Sometimes because this much family time is too much family time, or as a co-worker recently confided in a Teams meeting — paying for his own coffee is getting really expensive. If you’re among those who plan to resume shaving and bathing soon, you may return to work on a Chicago Transit Authority...
Navy Pier Plan Has CTA Buses Feeling All Tingly
If this was a certain recently-defunct real estate blog, we would use the headline “REVEALED: CTA’S SHOCKING PLAN FOR NAVY PIER!” But we’re not. We’re a certain been-reporting-on-Chicago-for-17-years-and-don’t-engage-in-clickbait publication. So that’s why we’ll just tell you that the Chicago Transit Authority has a cool idea for an electric bus charging station at Navy...
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...
