This week we told you about the new Station Square condo development at Prairie Crossing, the Grayslake community dedicated to eco-friendly construction. Emerald, a new-construction project planned for 123 S Green St in the West Loop, may be a sign that city developments are starting to go green as well. Go to Emerald’s Web site and you’ll quickly find that it’s being touted as “eco-friendly.”
The developer mentions “environmentally-responsible materials that are also inviting and stylish.” Eco-friendly building materials, paint and finishes sound good to us. For instance, buyers can upgrade their countertops to recycled glass. Fabrics used in the building are made from recycled fiber, the bamboo flooring is a renewable resource that is apparently 25 percent more resilient than hardwood. Even the marketing materials were printed on recycled paper with soy ink.
Despite these brief mentions, Emerald is still directing its marketing toward luxury-seekers and not tree-huggers. The development is described as the place for people “who revere Manolo Blahnik and Kenneth Cole,” not John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt.
Actually, the folk at Emerald seem much more proud of the building’s amenities, which include a 1,500-square-foot fitness center and Club Emerald, which the developer dubs “Chicago’s hippest private lounge.”
The lounge will have private liquor cabinets and a custom bar and seating area, where residents will no doubt gather to discuss the impact of global warming on the environment.
Emerald’s two towers and adjoining two-story atrium were designed by Pappageorge / Haymes Ltd. The 212 units will have one or two bedrooms and one or two bathrooms. And here’s something interesting: the master bathroom comes with a 13-inch, wall-mounted TV.
Every unit has floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony, and eastern exposures offer unobstructed views of the downtown skyline. The lobby is 8,000 square feet, and retail neighbors will include Starbucks and Fifth Third Bank. Prices start in the $230s.
A joint development by Harlem Irving Companies, New Frontier Companies and Senco Properties, Emerald is slated for delivery in 2008 and is being marketed by Property Consultants.