Prime Real Estate: Green “One-Stop Shop” Planned for Chicago

CHICAGO — Construction is scheduled to begin soon in Chicago on a LEED-certified commercial center that will provide space for eco-friendly businesses. The project is the latest development in a series of green commercial centers that are being built in the United States.

Green Exchange, a development that will have room for more than 100 tenants, will house companies that offer environmentally conscious products and services. Prospective tenants for the center include an organic restaurant and café, a sustainable furniture store, a green building supply company, a clothing store, a bike shop, and architect and design firms focused on sustainable design.

The new center will be located in a renovated lamp factory at Logan Square. Baum Development LLC, a Chicago-based commercial real estate development firm, will spearhead the renovation project. Developers plan to spend more than $30 million revamping the four-story, 250,000-square-foot loft building.

Planners are aiming for LEED silver certification for the renovation. Sustainable features will include lighting sensors, solar panels and natural light.

The building consists of two-wings, which join in a U-shape with a courtyard in between. The courtyard will be converted into parking spaces, with electrical outlets for hybrid cars. A replacement courtyard will be located on the second floor.

The rooftop will contain a 9,000-square-foot garden that will offer views of downtown Chicago. Rainwater collected in cisterns beneath the building will be used to water the garden.

Light sensors will be installed along ceilings to reduce energy consumption and maximize use of natural light.

Officials with Baum expect the renovation to be completed by early 2008, when the first tenants are scheduled to move in. The firm has 15 committed tenants and is negotiating with more than 60 others. Tenants are required to provide green products and services, and to raise consumer awareness of the sustainable market.

The company estimates the average cost to tenants to lease space will be $20 to $30 per square foot. Businesses will be provided with a basic area in the building that could be reconfigured according to their needs.

Several other similar projects are springing up throughout the United States. The Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, a 70,000-square-foot business community in Portland, Ore., houses about 20 tenants offering sustainable goods, including Patagonia.

A $20 billion, 800-acre retail complex is also planned for New York. The complex will include stores, hotels, theaters, restaurants and a research park.