GreenBean

Coppin House

Location
333 E. 56th St. & 338 E. 55th Pl. Map

Developer
Interfaith Housing Development Corporation

Architect
Weese Langley Weese

Coppin House is a pair of identical, 27-unit, 4-story apartment buildings for young adults and families. The two buildings face each other across an alley and are joined by a walkway. This is the second of three projects being completed simultaneously by Interfaith Housing - we covered the first, Sankofa House last week.

Matson Residence

Location
6001 N. Menard Map

Owner
Private Residence

Architect
Mark A. Miller

The Matson Residence is a new 3,600 sf, 2-story plus basement single family home with an unusually naturalistic site backing up to the Chicago River. The project will be Energy Star rated and is an example of homeowners choosing an energy-efficient and green home because of the benefits to themselves, without needing any outside incentive.

Sankofa House

Location
4041 W. Roosevelt Map

Developer
Interfaith Housing Development Corporation

Architect
Harley Ellis Deveraux

Sankofa House is a new 58-unit, 5-story apartment building for young adults and families. This is one of three projects being completed simultaneously by Interfaith Housing, which partners with community organizations to build affordable housing for underserved populations. Interfaith is building all three projects green - none are seeking LEED certification, but all meet the technical criteria for Chicago's soon-to-be-announced residential green building certification.

Extreme Makeover Home

Location
1544 S. Washtenaw Map

Owner
Private Residence

Architect
McBride Kelley Baurer

We're a little behind on the scoop on this one, not for lack of hearing about it, but because of the plethora of projects to cover! January 14th was the first airing of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the Noyola family of North Lawndale. The project received lots of press because of the theatrics of performing a gut rehab in a week and the family's personal story (not to mention the PR blitz surrounding any reality show). However, it's also great that there are many green features to this 4 bedroom, 3,600 sf home (which actually doubled the square footage of the existing home with a rear and 3rd floor addition).

Lexington Park

Location
2138 S. Indiana Map

Owner
Chieftain Construction

Architect
VOA

Lexington Park is a South Loop high-rise condo development consisting of a 35-story, 297-unit tower and a seven-story, 36-unit "loft" building, connected by a podium including storefront retail space and a multilevel parking garage. It is Ireland-based developer Chieftain's first project in the U.S., so it is of particular note that they have chosen to seek a LEED Certified rating. The developer's response when presented with the idea of certification was, "You mean it's not required?" Clearly we need to catch up with our friends across the pond.

Walton Street Homes

Location
2652 W. Walton Map

Owner
Grun Development

Architect
Kasia Hochberg

This is a series of three prototypical single-family homes at 2652, 2656, and 2658 W. Walton St. Each home is two stories with a basement, is approximately 4,000 sf, and is Energy Star rated. The project very much focuses on the fundamentals of energy conservation, while throwing in a few additional low- or no-cost features (such as low-voc paints and finishes). It'd be nice to see more small residential developers grasp these basics before 'graduating' to more exotic systems.

Wieboldt Hall

Location
339 E. Chicago Map

Owner
Northwestern University

Architect
SmithGroup

Wieboldt Hall is one of three original buildings built in 1926 on Northwestern's downtown campus. This high-rise building is undergoing a 31,000 sf renovation to modernize mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and provide new classroom spaces and a new entry lobby to the School of Continuing Studies. A major MEP upgrade in a building of this vintage is inherently challenging, but in addition, Northwestern has elected to seek LEED for Commercial Interiors certification for the 4th and 5th floors, which will be complete in the first phase of renovation.