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Sustainable Buildings
Permit Program Speeds
Greening of Chicago
by Paula Widholm
Chicago is doing its part to make sustainable buildings more
commonplace.
Efforts began in city government's backyard when the city
mandated that all new municipal buildings must be LEED certified.
Next, city officials branched out with both green requirements
and incentives for private developments.
Thirdly, a Green Permit Program initiated in April 2005 attracts
many developers as it speeds up the permitting process.
"The three as a package is the main driver to get large
projects to be green," said Erik Olsen, green projects
administrator in the Department of Construction and Permits
with the city of Chicago.
These initiatives, combined with a cultural shift toward environmental
awareness and energy cost savings, have resulted in more green
building locally.
Green Permit Program
Rubloff Hall, a $9 million, 37,000-sq.-ft. residence hall
that opened this fall at Saint Xavier University on the Southwest
Side, participated in the city's Green Permit Program and received
its permit in six weeks. Normally, a permit would take 10 to
12 weeks.
"The university felt it was time to be a leader in green
technologies," said Paul Mathews, assistant vice president
for facilities management at SXU.
Seed money to design and commission the residence hall to green
building specifications came in the form of a $90,400 grant
from the Chicago-based Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation,
an independent foundation that provides financial support for
energy-efficient projects.
Overall, the city issues approximately 50,000 permits a year.
Less than 1,000 are for large projects over 25 units or 80,000
sq. ft. For these large projects, the traditional permit time
averages 90 days, whereas through the green permit process it's
about 42 days.
Financial perks also came through the Green Permit Program because
all consultant fees were waived. "We were moved to the
front of the line and dealt directly with Erik Olsen on design
of the building and its approval," Mathews said.
Under the Green Permit Program, a green building adviser reviews
design plans under an aggressive schedule long before submitting
a permit application.
"There's one point of contact with intimate knowledge about
the project to help speed up the permit process," Olsen
said. "We handle fewer projects and keep them moving."
The 83-bed Rubloff Hall at SXU, designed by Chicago-based Solomon
Cordwell Buenz and built by Hickory Hills-based Henry Bros.
Co., is also meant to influence students on the importance of
environmental issues.
"We're not just building a building, but we're building
an educational platform," Mathews said. "All buildings
in the future will also be green using the LEED certification."
Overall, Rubloff Hall cost about $291,400 more than conventional
construction, but Mathews said he expects the building to last
twice as long.
And, energy costs are expected to be $60,000 per year vs. the
$90,000 of a conventional building.
More than 10 percent of the roof is a green roof, which is covered
with clay pots holding small plants. The remainder of the roof
is reflective white. The building also features a displacement
ventilation system, the first of its kind in the state.
"In common spaces, it analyzes the amount of carbon dioxide
output and compensates the air quality," Mathews said.
Rubloff is the first residence hall in the Chicago area and
one of two in Illinois to be LEED certified.
Projects going through the Green Permit Program receive benefits
based on their level of green. Tier I commercial projects are
designed to be LEED certified. Tier II projects must obtain
LEED silver rating. At this level, consultant review fees, which
range from $5,000 to $50,000, are waived.
Tier III projects must earn LEED gold. The goal for a Tier III
project is to issue a permit in three weeks for a small project
such as a 12-unit condo building.
By the end of 2005, 19 green permits were issued; so far this
year, 32 such permits have been issued. Olsen estimated that
about 50 would be issued in 2006, which exceeds the city's goal
of 40.
"The goal is to cut the time in half," Olsen said.
"The incentive is saving time. And, if they qualify for
second level, it's also the money with the consultant fee being
waived."
Private developers are most interested in the timesaving because
they can pay less interest on their construction loans by completing
the building faster and getting it sold, Olsen noted.
Municipal Buildings Go Green
Since all new city and Cook County buildings must register
for LEED certification under the U.S. Green Building Council
in Washington, D.C., the design and construction community
at large is getting a lot of experience on LEED projects.
As this experience grows, it will flow into private development
as well, Olsen said.
The Chicago chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council also
offers numerous events to educate designers and contractors
on LEED issues and green building.
In 2005, 22 new city buildings, including fire stations, schools
and libraries, registered for LEED certification. For 2006,
Chicago has committed to building all of its new buildings
at a minimum LEED silver level with a target of gold.
In 2005, Chicago completed energy-efficiency retrofits at
all city libraries, adding to the more than 15 million sq.
ft. of citywide energy-efficiency retrofits instituted by
Mayor Richard Daley. In 2006, the city will complete lighting
retrofits at all 105 of its fire stations saving $250,000
in annual electricity costs and reducing emissions of carbon
dioxide by 3,515 tons.
In 2005, Chicago purchased solar panels for hot water heating
capable of generating a total of 1.27 megawatts, the equivalent
of heating 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools. In 2006, the city
will provide grants for the installation of these solar panels
at qualified affordable housing developments, social service
organizations, coin laundries and health clubs.
The effort will nearly double Chicago's installed solar power
capacity.
Greening Private Projects
In 2005, the Chicago City Council passed a construction and
demolition waste recycling ordinance, requiring all general
contractors and demolition contractors in the city to recycle
25 percent of their waste in 2006 and 50 percent in 2007.
Construction and demolition waste makes up approximately 40
percent of the city's waste stream.
More than 60 green roofs were installed or planned in 2005
through city initiatives, bringing the total of green roofs
in the city to more than 200 and creating more than 3 million
sq. ft. of roofs that keep the city cool and reduce the amount
of stormwater directed to the city's sewer system.
Even with the initiatives spurring green building, the Second
City is not necessarily first in environmentally friendly
building, said Peter Nicholson, executive director of the
Chicago-based sustainable design consultancy Foresight Design
Initiative.
"We're sort of lagging," Nicholson added. "Chicago
doesn't have a progressively green high-rise yet."
In New York, several sustainable skyscrapers are undergoing
construction, including the Bank of America Tower, Hearst
Magazine Tower and the Conde Nast Building.
The Conde Nast Building features solar panels built into the
curtain wall.
"There's nothing here on that scale," Nicholson
said. "There are some buildings that have green features
but haven't taken it to the extent others have."
One reason may be that headquarters clients choose sustainability
to make a statement, and Chicago developers build more speculative
office towers with an eye toward flipping them for profit,
Nicholson said.
"It can cost 1 to 5 percent more to include progressively
green features, and developers are not getting the payback
quickly," Nicholson said.
Culture has to do with it, too. Nicholson added that in Portland
a green condo building sold out faster than a similar traditionally
built one because people there preferred to live in a green
building.
"If people are willing to pay a premium for progressively
green features, developers will be there," Nicholson
said. "The city is trying to use what means it has to
encourage greener development, but it's only a few drops in
the bucket."
Still, others see the benefits of Chicago's initiatives.
The Green Permit Program helps developers see the benefits
of sustainable building, said Lois Vitt Sale, chair of the
Chicago chapter of the USGBC and principal of Downers Grove-based
Phoenix Architects.
"It's a very positive move on the city's part,"
she said. "It's motivating people who wouldn't necessarily
build green. For those who wonder 'Should I go green or should
I just skip it?' the Green Permit Program helps tip it in
the favor of going green."
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