Condo buyers at eco18, a 12-story green building planned for the South Loop, can for a limited time get a free parking space valued at $18,900 – a place to stash the Prius on the days they walk to nearby el or Metra trains.
That’s assuming they take green cred seriously, which is likely if they’ve plunked down $249,900 to $649,900 for a condo at eco18. Environmentally friendly features of the 93-unit building, which will also have 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, include a solar thermal hot water system, a green rooftop garden and heating and cooling run by a geothermal energy system that uses pipes drilled 450 feet into bedrock.
Condo owners stand to save about 40 percent in energy costs compared to a traditional building, according to Rick Turner, president of Dynaprop Development Corp, the company behind the project. Dynaprop will seek LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council, a Washington nonprofit that sets national standards for eco-friendly building.
Jameson Realty Group, the marketing agent, reports that the building is 25 percent sold.
If they were to provide this free parking to *only* the high performing hybrid cars (and not those hybrid SUVs, btw) I’d say that would be taking being green seriously.
But looking to save money on energy use just ties in with green technology, it doesn’t in any way mean the individuals are actually changing their lifestyles.
Put it this way, who is living the greener life – the guy with no AC who just opens his windows when it gets hot or the guy setting his thermostat to 68 all summer, even if his energy is relatively efficient?
I applaud the LEED buildings & am not in favor of people suffering through miserable temperatures (we found that with a new efficient HVAC system we used less energy cooling our flat to about 75 or 78 then we previously did with just one air conditioner in our bedroom so we could sleep), but in general I do think people need to rethink the concept of artificially changing their home & office climates so they resemble Hawaii.
Putting on an extra sweater or using a fan/getting some fresh air instead of jacking up the hear or blasting the AC never killed anyone, right?
Are you basing your opinion on more than the thumbnail size rendering we reproduced?
Are you serious? You call this architecture? Anyone who would want to buy in this building needs to have their head checked out!!! I am all about green living, but along with green living you think the architecture would be edgy and very modern, but this is something out of Oakbrook! Who the hell designed this????? i hope it doesnt get built!
I repeat my question.
Are you basing your opinion on more than the thumbnail size rendering we reproduced?
I think the design of this building is terrible period! When you take a look at the “green” buildings being built around the country, this is a joke!!! How suburban! Seriouslly! Its chea, dumbed down architecture.
No I am not basing my opinion on the rendering. I have been to the website as well and my opinion stands, ITS UGLY! This is not architecture, its a shame if this gets built. My wish this holiday season is that someday maybe some architect will design a stunning tall thin building for the south loop.
After checking out the website I have to agree…
Architecturally, it is pretty bankrupt. Corbel’s on a twelve story turret? The last impression I get is ‘green design’.
Looks pretty goofy in the rendering. It looks better in person although I saw last week that they used a way darker paint for floors 3 through 12. I do like how they treated the street wall (architectural break at 2 stories) and the addition of a side plaza. However, I can’t seem to think that they should have switched the SE corner and the SW corner. Michigan Ave, in this area already has too many “prominent” steel balconies.
The arches remind me of something, there should be a sign reading “Dominick’s Fresh Store” on them.
A few of unit plans are just strange too.
Yes you Dimwit, please give us more of the crappy, yet cheaply constructed CMK stuff on Michigan Ave. It’s edgy Architecture when you can walk down Michigan Ave and be able to look into their unit and see all the Walmart & IKEA furniture, clothing and other personal belongings piled up against the window, and newspaper taped to the window doubling as blinds…give us more of this trash please.
Jeff,
Cut the name-calling.
Terriffic; hope this holds for the slew of ‘NIMBY’ targeted posts and the like.
I find it pretty bizarre that some people responding to this article equate how aesthetically pleasing a building is to how “green” it is. A building can be ugly and yet be extremely green, and another building can be an architechtural masterpiece and be anything but green.