By Rick Prohov
Oct. 26, Evanston City Council voted 8-1 in favor of an ordinance requiring large new commercial buildings to meet the LEED Silver standard of green building. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a comprehensive building rating and certification system maintained by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
The green building [...]

By Vivek Jayaram
Sustainability. Twitter. Eco-Industrial corridors. These words are not historically germane to political discourse. Then again, Manuel “Manny” Flores, the alderman of Chicago’s First Ward, isn’t exactly a conventional politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, Flores has successfully held public office since 2003 by focusing his [...]

The Haworth Merchandise Mart showroom was chosen as one of 104 projects to participate in the U.S. Green Building Council’s nationwide LEED-CI pilot program. In 2005, the Haworth showroom became the first LEED-CI Gold certified showroom in the Merchandise Mart. This project set the bar for at least eight other showrooms seeking LEED-CI or LEED-EB certification within the Merchandise Mart.

Logan Square Kitchen is more than a commercial kitchen and 75-seat event space that happens to be designed sustainably; it is a community incubator that will provide social and public health benefits that are beyond the scope of LEED. The project intends to set the bar for a LEED Gold Commercial Interior renovation.

As part of an effort to stimulate sustainable and equitable economic development in one of the more socioeconomically distressed areas of the region, the City of Chicago is sponsoring one of the largest sustainable neighborhood revitalization developments in the country. Consisting of 1,140 acres in the South Chicago neighborhood, the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) plan will serve as a guide to the city for sustainable redevelopment on the south side for the next 25 years.

The Grossinger City Autoplex at 1500 N. Dayton is, first and foremost, an example of large-scale, urban adaptive reuse. The project is the reimage a building that once played host to a jukebox manufacturer and most recently a Home Depot EXPO Design Center. The new Grossinger City Autoplex, currently under construction, will house a multi-line automotive retail sales and service center for three manufacturers, including Toyota, Cadillac and Chevrolet. Thanks in part to TIF requirements, the facility has been designed to meet LEED-NC Version 2.2 LEED Silver certification, and has successfully participated the City of Chicago Green Permit process.