The warm and caring people of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston follow a line of thinking spoken in depth in the book of Genesis, which states that the children of Abraham must follow the code of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. They believe that it is their duty to improve the condition of the world which they have inherited. JRC’s commitment to Tikkun Olam is readily apparent in their LEED® Platinum certified congregation center on Dodge Avenue.

PCC Community Wellness Center is a non-profit network of health care centers that has provided affordable health care to underserved west side communities for over 25 years. Now, with the construction of the Austin Family Health Center, essential services like pediatric care, diagnostic testing, women’s health care, HIV testing and family planning will be offered in a building that is healthier for staff, visitors and the environment. The 18,000 square-foot facility, slated to open next summer, will have 15 exam rooms, increasing PCC capacity by 150% and providing care for up to 32,000 patients each year.

With its first LEED®-Gold restaurant, Max Carmona, Senior Director, Restaurant Design, McDonald’s USA along with the McDonald’s design team hopes to learn which technologies provide the most energy savings and environmental benefits and how they can be incorporated into future store designs. In August, the fast food chain opened its first targeted LEED®-certified restaurant in Chicago. The new fast food eatery is located at 4158 S. Ashland Avenue, just outside the Stockyards Industrial Corridor. The site was home to an older, corporate-owned McDonald’s which was torn down to make way for the new, greener establishment. John Rockwell, the lead quality manager for McDonald’s U.S. Restaurant Group (and a LEED®-AP) calls the new site a “learning lab,” intended to help the company’s design team understand how new green technologies can be employed in both new restaurants and existing ones.

The Greenway Self Park garage, at the corner of Kinzie and Clark, currently under construction and slated for completion in mid-2009, is designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimal waste. One of the most notable elements will be the six vertical wind turbines stacked along the southwest corner. This innovation will provide enough electricity for all of the building’s exterior lighting and contribute excess power directly to the grid.

With the help of friends and family, the pair has been transforming the vintage house into a green home. Features of the La Fleur home include PowerZoning air recirculation, a tankless water heater, soy foam insulation, and an exterior rain barrel. Since the home is a partial renovation of an old house, it is ineligible for LEED® certification.

Unlike other high rise projects in the area, Winthrop Club has garnered ample sales to clear its financing hurdle. Due to the current gridlock in the credit markets high- and mid-rise condominium programs in Evanston, akin to the rest of the region, have taken it on the chin of late. Through the third quarter of this year, there were a total of twelve net sales among eight new-construction condominium programs in Evanston, four of which either lost sales or recorded no new contracts thus far this year.