Lakeview Townhome Development Gets Green Light to Go Green
A new housing development in the West Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago is setting the standard for future residential projects as the first townhome development to gain LEED certification (the term used for eco-friendly building design).
Going green is becoming a very popular trend throughout the city as individual homeowners and new condominium constructions incorporate environmentally mindful innovations and concepts, such as high-efficiency appliances and furnaces, and energy-saving roofs and windows. But this 82-unit undertaking will be the forerunner in Chicago for creating an entire development of townhomes that have obtained the LEED designation, giving other developers a benchmark to shoot for.
So what exactly does LEED certification mean? The U.S. Green Building Council uses the label (short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) to indicate and rank constructions that optimize sustainability. This can include utilizing energy and water conserving practices, like laying semi-permeable driveways so that when it rains some water will seep through the porous surface to the ground below instead of all running off into the street drains—this takes part of the load off of the city’s sewers.
Because the land for this unprecedented green townhome venture is currently zoned for manufacturing, West Lakeview’s alderman is adamant that the developer upholds the minimum requirement for LEED certification in exchange for his support to rezone the area for residential use. The expense of meeting LEED qualifications will increase the cost of construction approximately 10 percent, but the developer has no intention of raising unit prices to make up the difference. The townhouses (of which there will be 71 units) will be listed for $500,000 to start, while the 11 single-family homes will be priced at $1 million to start. In addition to the aforementioned features, the residences will integrate barrels to capture rain runoff from the rooftops, which saves money on water bills and helps preserve natural resources.
This development, located on the edge of the Chicago River at the corner of West Oakdale and North Oakley avenues, is something we expect to see a lot more of in the years to come. The trend towards a green society is slow going, but as more and more awareness is raised on the issue of global warming and how we can reduce our carbon footprints, the movement is sure to gain strength and momentum. The housing market is a huge industry that, as a whole, can make a significant difference. With both builders and homeowners doing their part to protect the earth, the outlook for the future is a promising and exciting one.
Posted at 10:43AM Oct 09, 2007
by Yuval Degani in General
