GreenBean

Whitehead-Elniski Residence

Location
1313 W. Ohio, Chicago Map

Owner
Frances Whitehead and James Elniski

Architect
James & Kutyla Architecture

1313 W. Ohio is one of the first in the current wave of custom single-family homes seeking to be the greenest in Chicago. The project includes an unusually extensive laundry list of green features, going above and beyond the standard green measures in every category, from energy to materials to landscape. In addition, it includes inherent design features just making their way into green awareness. As with the Mauceri Residence, the home is live-work - the first floor houses studio space for the artist owners. In addition, the first floor is fully accessible, with an at-grade entry, ramps for elevation changes, and an accessible bathroom - items rarely included in a single-family home.

Pearsall Residence

Location
1840 N. Leavitt, Chicago Map

Owner
Alex Pearsall

Architect
Norsman Architects

1840 N. Leavitt is an existing 100 year old multi-unit residential building being converted to a single family residence with 6,000 sf above grade and 3,000 sf below grade of habitable space, totaling 6 bedrooms and 5 baths. This is another example of the jumbo-sized home that works to counteract its large size with a variety of green measures. The project is seeking Chicago Green Homes and Energy Star certification.

Heppner Residence

Location
8628 S. Marquette, Chicago Map

Owner
Charles and Timothy Heppner

The Heppner Residence is an example of extreme do-it-yourself green renovation. This existing 100 year-old wood frame single family home is being rebuilt by Tim and Charles Heppner, two brothers, with Tim acting as architect and performing most construction work himself. The home is on a double lot with the southern half vacant, providing lots of opportunity for outdoor green as well. The Heppner brothers are seeking Energy Star and Chicago Green Homes certification for their new home.

Yannell Residence

Location
4895 N. Ravenswoood, Chicago Map

Owner
Michael Yannell

Architect
Farr Associates

The Yannell Residence is a new two-story plus basement, 2,675 sf home seeking LEED for Homes Platinum certification. We haven't seen many LEED for Homes projects in Chicago (the Mauceri Residence recently earned a Gold certification), mostly because the program has been in pilot phase for years, but the USGBC has finally sent it for final member approval. The home also seeks to be one of Chicago's first zero net energy homes - a challenging goal that can only be demonstrated by studying a year's worth of utility data after the home is completed.

1314 N. Moorman

Location
1314 N. Moorman, Chicago Map

Owner
House Plant, Inc.

Architect
Norsman Architects

1314 N. Moorman is a 2,600 sf (3,600 sf with basement) speculative single family home with many basic energy efficiency features and a bit of 'green bling'. Although it is certainly in the class of high-end spec homes, with 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths it isn't nearly as large as some of the custom homes we see. This is another example of an owner new to development using green as a way to differentiate their product - I love that their company name works as a triple entendre.

Cleveland Residence

Location
2013 N. Cleveland, Chicago Map

Owner
Private Residence

Architect
Elements Architectural Group
William Scholtens, Design Principal

The Cleveland Residence is a deconversion of an existing 5 dwelling unit building and coach house, both dating to 1876, into a single family home. Similar to the Orchard Residence, this is a luxury project that can afford some very sophisticated features, but is also fairly large (6,500 sf). Although we take some heat for covering these large projects, this one has two green elements working in its favor - it's an existing building, and it's on a double lot and is preserving a fair amount of open space. These projects also provide an opportunity for architects and engineers to experiment with new technologies that can't be applied on most market-rate homes.

Finfrock Residence

Location
2318 N. Oakley, Chicago Map

Owner
Curt Finfrock

Architect
Curt Finfrock

The Finfrock Residence is another example of an architect's own home seeking Chicago Green Homes certification, similar to others that are complete or in-progress around town. At three floors plus a roof deck and basement, this one is on the larger side, but attempts to make up for that with an emphasis on site design and energy-efficiency.

Keller Residence

Location
2024 N. Albany, Chicago Map

Owner
Jay Keller and Grace Adefuin

Architect
Space Architect + Planners

2024 N. Albany is a new 2-story with basement, 3,500 sf single-family home seeking Chicago Green Homes certification. This a project designed by an architect as his own family residence - it's not unusual for designers to use their own homes for some experimentation, so it only follows that we're seeing more architects incorporating green in their personal projects. Although the home is on the larger side for floor area, it includes accommodations for live-in extended family, making the size more reasonable.

1555 N. Talman

Location
1555 N. Talman, Chicago Map

Owner
Shangri-La Developers

Architect
Florian Architects

1555 N. Talman is a new 4-story mixed-use building with commercial space and parking on the first floor and 8 residential units on the upper floors. The projects is at the southeast corner of North and Talman, caddy-corner from the two-building Hispanic Housing development we've covered. This project is also seeking Chicago Green Homes certification. The presence of these three green buildings makes this little corner in Humboldt Park one of the greenest in Chicago!

1600 N. Talman

Location
1600 N. Talman, Chicago Map

Owner
Hispanic Housing Development Corporation

Architect
Weese Langley Weese

1600 N. Talman is the second phase of a two-building development with a renovation and new construction component. We reported on the first phase, rehab of an immediately adjacent existing building, back in April. While the first phase was family housing, this building consists of 53 affordable housing units for the elderly, with community space and covered parking on the first floor. Both phases are seeking Chicago Green Homes certification.

4227 S. St. Lawrence

Location
4227 S. St. Lawrence, Chicago Map

Owner
Om Development, LLC

Architect
Echo Studio

4227 S. St. Lawrence is a just-completed home from a new entry on Chicago's green development scene, Om Development. The project is a gut rehab of an 1890's Bronzeville multifamily back into a single-family home. There's not a lot of green bling here, just solid energy-efficiency (exceeding Energy Star requirements by 90%), leading the project to pursue a Chicago Green Homes three-star certification. The home will also be featured in an upcoming USGBC trolley tour.

1715 N. Damen

Location
1715 N. Damen, Chicago Map

Owner
1715 N. Damen LLC

Architect
Wilkinson Blennder Architecture

1715 N. Damen is a new 4-story 10,600 s.f. mixed-use project in the heart of Wicker Park. The building will include a 2,000 sf commercial space on the ground floor, a 2,800 sf condominium on the second floor, and a 3,400 sf condominium on the third and fourth floors. The project is seeking a two-star Chicago Green Homes certification and was selected for a Chicago Department of Environment green roof grant.

Green Armitage

Location
3018 W. Armitage, Chicago Map

Developer
The Sanders Company

Architect
Swiss Design Group

Green Armitage is a new five-story residential building, with a first-floor commercial space and eight 1200-1300 sf residential units above. The project has been under the eye of Chicago green building fans for a while, but appears to be finally off the ground (nearly literally). This is the rare developer-driven, market rate residential project that gets green right - starting with an emphasis on energy efficiency, then considering additional features. The building is designed to beat the latest energy code (2006 IECC) requirements by 80%, and is nearly certain to qualify for at least a LEED Silver certification (but is targeting Platinum!).

Residential Deconstruction

Location
3905 N. Janssen, Chicago Map

There's no architect on this project, as it's an un-project: Chicago's first residential deconstruction, currently underway on a 2-story home at 3905 N. Janssen. Deconstruction is the process of carefully dismantling a building in order to salvage components for reuse, as opposed to demolition, where buildings are smashed with wrecking balls and bulldozed, leaving components in bits and pieces. Although salvage of valuable architectural elements such as some plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, built-ins, and sometimes woodwork occurs in Chicago, never does it occur on the scale seen here, down to every last stud. Kudos to Urban Habitat Chicago (UHC) and The Reuse People for this accomplishment, and let's hope it becomes a growing trend. Our photo is provided by UHC.

Spaulding and Trumbull Family Apartments

Location
1310-1316 S. Spaulding Map
1424-1428 S. Trumbull Map

Owner
Spaulding Trumbull, LP

Architect
Harley Ellis Devereaux

Spaulding and Trumbull family apartments are a pair of former CHA buildings being renovated to reduce the number of units (to 14 for Spaulding, 11 for Trumbull), modernize the buildings, and dress up their appearance. When complete, they will be privately owned affordable apartments. This is a fairly simple project that puts some disused apartments buildings back into use without an unreasonable investment, and avoids the tear-down that many similar buildings would face.

900 S. Clark

Location
900 S. Clark Map

Owner
AMLI Residential

Architect
Solomon Cordwell Buenz

900 S. Clark is a 24-story, 440 unit apartment tower currently under construction just north of the Target along Roosevelt Road. This is the first high-rise apartment building (instead of condos) to seek LEED certification in Chicago. It is also AMLI's first project of any sort within the Chicago city limits, although they have many walk-up rental properties in the suburbs.

2654 W. North

Location
2654 W. North Map

Owner
Hispanic Housing Development Corporation

Architect
Weese Langley Weese

2654 W. North is the first phase of a two-building development with a renovation and new construction component. This phase is a renovation of an existing 4-story loft building into a 24-unit apartment building for families. I believe this is Hispanic Housing's first project billed as green, making it a great example of a well-established affordable housing developer transitioning into green (partly because of city incentives).

Clara's Village

Location
2115 W. 63rd St. (28-unit) Map
1637, 1901, & 1941 W. 59th St. and 6355 S. Wood (6-flats)

Developer
Interfaith Housing Development Corporation

Architect
Farr Associates

Clara's Village is a two-part project consisting of a 28-unit, five-story apartment building and four six-flats on scattered sites, all within a half-mile of one another. This is the third of three projects being completed simultaneously by Interfaith Housing - previously we covered Sankofa House and Coppin House.

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.

1927 W. Potomac

Location
1927 W. Potomac Map

Owner
Private Owner

Architect
URBANWorks

1927 W. Potomac is a 5-unit, 9,300 sf new construction condo building. This is a modest project demonstrating that a for-profit developer can build a reasonably green building without breaking the bank or pushing the envelope. And to top it off, the design team set a Green Permit Program record for speed - the building permit was issued in less than five weeks.

Novak Residence

Location
3339 N. Leavitt Map

Owner
Novak Construction and Development

Architect
IDEA

3339 N. Leavitt is a 4,700 sf, three-story plus basement single-family home. This project falls into the emerging class of quite large homes, that despite their size, seek to be extremely green. The home will be Energy Star rated and most of the green emphasis is on energy-efficiency features, of which ICF construction is the highlight.

Hybrid House I

Location
454 E. 44th St. Map

Owner
Julian Dawson

Architect
Ray/Dawson, P.C.

Hybrid House I is a 2,000 sf, two-bedroom single family home that is as cutting-edge as the immediately adjacent IIT Urban House I. Although privately owned and occupied, the project is being constructed in partnership with the African-American Home Builders Association as a community resource. Like Urban House I, the project has an aggressive passive-solar approach that is boosted by a nearly suburban lot configuration and interior concrete slabs and masonry walls for thermal mass. When complete, this pair of projects will likely be a must-see on the local green building circuit - let's just hope their unusual architectural design doesn't leave visitors with the impression that green buildings in their community must have this style.

2622 W. Evergreen

Location
2622 W. Evergreen Map

Owner
RpV Development

Architect
Space Architects and Planners

2622 W. Evergreen is a gut rehab of an existing 3-story building with 6 one-bedroom units and a common basement. This project is much more modest in size (4,500 sf of living space) and green goals than many for-sale projects we've covered. It's great that the original number of units is being maintained without adding any floor area - this is an exception to the rule in Chicago, where we often see two- and three-flats being converted into large single-family homes. Although it's not cutting edge, this is the first green project for this developer, and it's a good example of how small developers that already have a system developed can get their feet wet. Our photo is of the existing building before any work was begun.

Westhaven Park Phase IIB

Location
Lake/Wood/Washington/Wolcott Map

Owner
Brinshore Development
Michaels Development Co.

Architect
Landon Bone Baker Architects Ltd.
Brook Architecture Inc.

Westhaven Park Phase IIB is a mixed-income, 213-unit, 30 building portion of the Chicago Housing Authority's redevelopment of the former Henry Horner Homes. 127 rental units in 18 buildings are currently under construction; the remainder are for-sale units to be constructed as a second phase. The buildings vary in size from 4 to 12 units per building. Every unit will be Energy Star rated.

Urban House 1

Location
448 E. 44th St. Map

Owner
Genesis Housing Development Corporation

Architect
DBStudio - IIT College of Architecture

Urban House 1 is a two-story, 1800 sf, three bedroom wood-frame house being built through a new design/build course at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Led by professors Eva Kultermann and Thomas Gentry, students tackle sustainable design, healthy construction, social responsiveness and design excellence simultaneously - a typically ambitious student assignment! This is one of a pair of projects being built side-by-side on 44th Street (on land purchased from the city) that are perhaps the most exotic green homes underway in the city, primarily because of their aggressive passive and active solar design.

Orchard Residence

Location
2202 N. Orchard Map

Owner
Private Residence

Architect
Dirk Denison Architects

The Orchard Residence is a 9,700 sf, 3-story plus basement single-family home currently under construction (6,600 sf with basement and garage). This is the largest home we've covered yet and is certain to raise some eyebrows because of the materials and energy consumption associated with such size, although it is worth noting it will be home to a large family. Most customer luxury projects include advanced features such as renewable energy equipment or ground-source heat pumps, but the green features on this home are mostly the basics.

2020 Green Dream

Location
2020 W. Rice Map

Owner
Private Residences

Architect
Wolbrink Architects Chartered

2020 Green Dream is a 3-unit, 5,700 sf multifamily residence built as a speculative, for-sale development. This project exemplifies a straightforward, reasonable-cost approach to green that should be replicable by other for-profit developments. All units are Energy Star rated and the architect recently won a GreenWorks Award for market transformation in green building.

Clifton Residence

Location
3121 N. Clifton Map

Owner
Private Residence

Architect
Depree Bickford Associates

3121 N. Clifton is a renovation of an existing three-flat into a single family home with a basement rental unit. The project mixes a few high payback major green investments and many inexpensive, common-sense green approaches. Unlike some of the all-out, demonstration green homes we've seen in Chicago, where anything goes, this project has the budget to invest in a few things, but puts the dollars where they stretch the farthest.

Near North SRO

Location
1244 N. Clybourn Map

Owner
Mercy Housing Lakefront

Architect
Murphy/Jahn Architects

Near North SRO is a 5-story, 96 unit single room occupancy that will be home to those on the CHA waiting list or at risk of homelessness. The average unit is only 300 square feet, but like many modern SROs, includes a private kitchen and bath. Social services are housed on the first floor. The project is under construction and targeting LEED Certification.

W Residence

Location
2822 N. Kedzie Map

Owner
Brian Warling & Lisa Wright

Architect
John Joyce Architects

The W Residence is a gut rehab and third-floor addition to an existing 2-story building with storefront space into a single live-work space, with Warling Studios on the first floor, offices for the studio and Red Bird Visual on a portion of the second floor, and residential space in the remainder. This is a project with a modest budget that is attempting to maximize green for their dollar with everyday, low-tech solutions.

340 On the Park

Location
340 E. Randolph Map

Owner
LR Development Company

Architect
Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Image courtesy of ImageFiction

340 On the Park is a 62-story, 344 unit condominium tower located on the last available site along Randolph Street between Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue. If you've been to Millennium Park this summer and looked north, you've had a fabulous view of this building being closed in. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2007.

Wentworth Commons

Location
11045 S. Wentworth Map

Owner
Mercy Housing Lakefront

Architect
Harley Ellis Devereaux

Wentworth Commons is a 4-story, 65,800 sf apartment building with 51 units and supportive services on the first floor. The building opened in June 2005, was designed to be green from its initiation, and is seeking LEED Certification. Detailed case studies are available here and here, and there is a brief Blair Kamin review. Most case studies highlight the brightly-colored graffiti-resistant exterior.

Rubloff Hall

Location
10204 S. Central Park Map

Owner
St. Xavier University

Architect
Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Rubloff Hall is a new 5-story, 37,000 sf residence hall on the campus of St. Xavier University seeking LEED Silver certification. The 26 unit, 87 bed building is opening to students this month and is the third of a series of similar dormitories recently completed, but the only one built as a green building. The dorms form a new quadrangle on campus and accommodate a growing demand for student housing. In addition to the residential units there are some office and event spaces.

Clybourn Point

Location
1322 N. Clybourn Map

Owner
Rada Development

Architect
Rada Architects

Clybourn Point is a four-story mixed-use building with six residential units and a first-floor commercial space. This is one of the smallest projects currently seeking LEED certification (goal of LEED Silver) in Chicago, and is owned by a first-time developer. Many smaller green residential projects are owned by new developers who recognize green building as a way to differentiate their product, and Clybourn Point is certainly in that group. The project is also just up the street from Near North SRO (to be discussed in a future post) and City Farm, making this stretch of Clybourn one of the greenest areas in the city.

Norsman Residence

Location
1729 W. Potomac Map

Owner
HN Builders

Architect
Norsman Architects

The Norsman Residence is another example of a higher-budget single family home with a carefully considered green and design sense. The project is new construction on a substandard Chicago lot (23.5’ x 100’). It includes many of the features we are increasingly seeing for these semi-demonstration projects, such as a ground-source heat pump HVAC system, rooftop wind turbines (not shown in the image), highly insulated walls and windows, rainwater harvesting for irrigation, and a green roof.

Washington Park SRO

Location
5000 S. Indiana Map

Owner
Affordable Housing Preservation Foundation

Architect
Piekarz Associates PC

Washington Park SRO is a renovation of a 50-year old, 5-story, 200 unit SRO and recreational facility into a 100% affordable 63 unit SRO with plans for a future health club. Prior to beginning this renovation, the building sat vacant for two years after the Washington Park YMCA closed due to cost overruns.

Mauceri Residence

Location
1825 W Wabansia Map

Owner
Frank and Lisa Mauceri
Smog Veil Records

Architect
Wilkinson Blender Architecture


The Mauceri Residence is a 2-story, 5,600 sf renovation of an existing masonry building into a live/work single family home. This is one of several higher-budget residential projects demonstrating many unusual green elements, including 3 Aerotecture wind turbines, 30 solar electric panels, and geothermal heating and cooling.