Chicago’s Lincoln Park Wins LEED Gold

By IvyLee Rosario

NEWCITY Street View

Chicago—Structured Development has announced that three components of its NEWCITY retail and residential complex have been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Located at 1538 N. Clybourn Ave., building A, which houses Dick’s Sporting Goods, Capital One and Earls Kitchen + Bar, is one of the structures that achieved the LEED standards. The property’s parking garage and the retail portion of building B, located at 1457 N. Halsted Ave. and home to Z Gallerie and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, also earned the title.

Some of the details that led to NEWCITY’s LEED Gold status include having a comprehensive waste disposal program during construction that allowed over 75 percent of all waste to be recycled. Moreover, approximately 20 percent of the total construction cost was spent on materials extracted, harvested, recovered and manufactured within 500 miles of the site, limiting the environmental impact of material transportation. Other standards call for a storm water management system that collects rainwater in an infiltration basin, helping to decrease runoff by 25 percent; the use of technology and materials designed to minimize rising surface temperatures for more than 50 percent of the roads, sidewalks, courtyards and parking lots, as well as 83,000 square feet of green roof elements, low-flow water fixtures to help the site reduce water consumption by 30 percent and the design and installation of informational displays in high-traffic areas, including the residential lobby and retail corridors, to highlight the benefits of sustainable design and specific elements of NEWCITY that reduce its environmental footprint.

NEWCITY Aerial

“Sustainability was a guided principle throughout our development of NEWCITY and is reflected in everything from our ecologically responsible construction methods to our use of locally sourced, environmentally friendly building materials and systems,” said Mike Drew, founding principal of Structured Development, in prepared remarks. “For us, LEED certification is more than just a plaque on the wall. We wanted to exceed basic requirements, many of which have been adopted as standard building code and achieve a designation that can serve as a model for future development within Chicago’s Clybourn Corridor.”

Completed in 2015, the development includes more than 390,000 square feet of retail and commercial space across three buildings, as well as the 19-story, 199-unit luxury rental tower, which also achieved the LEED Gold designation in early 2016.

Image courtesy of Structured Development