Green Exchange
Encyclopedia
The Green Exchange is a sustainable and green retail and office development project in the Logan Square
community area
of Chicago
, Illinois
that is designed to house more than one hundred eco-friendly businesses and organizations within a single building. Developers of the building are currently seeking LEED
Platinum status for their rehabilitation of a historic landmark four-story manufacturing facility originally built in 1914.
Once completed, the retail and office space will be open to the public and is intended to serve as an important Midwest destination for green consumers.
In 2004, Cooper announced it was closing down the factory in Chicago. In order to keep the building from being turned into condominiums, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), a grass-roots community organization, organized neighbors, veteran Cooper workers, and the U.S. Green Building Council to form the Cooper Lamps Task Force.
As Cooper began to lay off workers during the summer of 2005, the Task Force negotiated for severance benefits from the owners and applied for enhanced job-training from the city. With the support of 1st Ward Alderman Manuel Flores
for a jobs-focused use for the plant, the building was sold to Baum Development, LLC, a commercial developer who agreed to pursue a use for the building that would create jobs.
Baum Development worked with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the National Park Service to win landmark protection for the building. Ninety-six percent of the original building structure will be rehabilitated and maintained to preserve this landmark structure.
Three times larger than the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center
in Portland, OR, Green Exchange is the country’s largest sustainable business community that will only house tenants offering green products and services. According to David Baum, one of the developers, "In order to be a tenant in Green Exchange, you must be doing something to advance the green marketplace.”
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
has described the project as “a great example of the public-private partnerships that are working together to help make Chicago one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the nation.”
, from which the building’s iconic four story clock tower can be seen. The tower underwent significant rehabilitation in 2008 to restore the façade’s original architectural ornamentation.
The building‘s conversion has been headed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. The first and second floors are intended for retail stores and showrooms while the third and fourth floors are for shared and individual office spaces. About 20 percent of these are work/live units ranging from 700 to 1500 square feet (139.4 m²) for business owners who want a kitchenette and bath and for start-up owners who want to live in their workspace. Additional tenant amenities include bike rooms, showers and environmentally-friendly meeting and event space.
The 272000 square feet (25,269.6 m²), four story building is U-shaped, divided into two wings separated by a courtyard. This layout allows natural light to penetrate from more than 600 windows that surround the building. The courtyard is being converted into a parking structure with priority parking for low-emitting vehicles.
The roof of the parking structure will feature an 8041 square feet (747 m²) sky garden that will be accessible from the second floor. Rain is collected in a 41,329-gallon cistern underneath the ground floor and used to irrigate plants and grass on the roof.
The building lowers utility costs in part due to a building envelope consisting of highly insulated walls and roofs combined with 600 high performance windows. The escalator slows down when no one is using it, thereby reducing energy usage by as much as 30 percent when compared to standard models.
A sophisticated HVAC
system allows for individualized control of tenant spaces and increased occupant comfort. Solar thermal panels provide hot water and cooling to the building and non-toxic construction materials and coatings improve the indoor air quality.
Logan Square, Chicago
Logan Square is one of the 77 city-designated community areas located on the near northwest side of the City of Chicago. The name, used here to describe the community area defined by U.S. census tracts, also applies to one of a number of smaller, more loosely defined residential neighborhoods...
community area
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
that is designed to house more than one hundred eco-friendly businesses and organizations within a single building. Developers of the building are currently seeking LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Platinum status for their rehabilitation of a historic landmark four-story manufacturing facility originally built in 1914.
Once completed, the retail and office space will be open to the public and is intended to serve as an important Midwest destination for green consumers.
History
Green Exchange occupies the former Frederick Cooper Lamp Company building, built in 1914, and originally home to the Vassar Swiss Underwear Company. Cooper bought the building in 1967 and in 2005, relocated to China.In 2004, Cooper announced it was closing down the factory in Chicago. In order to keep the building from being turned into condominiums, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), a grass-roots community organization, organized neighbors, veteran Cooper workers, and the U.S. Green Building Council to form the Cooper Lamps Task Force.
As Cooper began to lay off workers during the summer of 2005, the Task Force negotiated for severance benefits from the owners and applied for enhanced job-training from the city. With the support of 1st Ward Alderman Manuel Flores
Manuel Flores
Manuel "Manny" Flores is the Director of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation - Division of Banking . A member of the Democratic Party, Flores was elected to the Chicago City Council in 2003...
for a jobs-focused use for the plant, the building was sold to Baum Development, LLC, a commercial developer who agreed to pursue a use for the building that would create jobs.
Baum Development worked with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the National Park Service to win landmark protection for the building. Ninety-six percent of the original building structure will be rehabilitated and maintained to preserve this landmark structure.
Three times larger than the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center
Natural Capital Center
The Natural Capital Center, formally known as the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center and informally as the Ecotrust Building, is a notable example of green building in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was the first historic redevelopment in the U.S. to receive a gold-level Leadership in Energy...
in Portland, OR, Green Exchange is the country’s largest sustainable business community that will only house tenants offering green products and services. According to David Baum, one of the developers, "In order to be a tenant in Green Exchange, you must be doing something to advance the green marketplace.”
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
has described the project as “a great example of the public-private partnerships that are working together to help make Chicago one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the nation.”
Building
Green Exchange is located at 2545 West Diversey Avenue alongside the Kennedy ExpresswayKennedy Expressway
The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a long highway that travels northwest from the Chicago Loop to O'Hare International Airport. The expressway is named for the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. The Interstate 90 portion of the Kennedy is a part of the much longer I-90...
, from which the building’s iconic four story clock tower can be seen. The tower underwent significant rehabilitation in 2008 to restore the façade’s original architectural ornamentation.
The building‘s conversion has been headed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. The first and second floors are intended for retail stores and showrooms while the third and fourth floors are for shared and individual office spaces. About 20 percent of these are work/live units ranging from 700 to 1500 square feet (139.4 m²) for business owners who want a kitchenette and bath and for start-up owners who want to live in their workspace. Additional tenant amenities include bike rooms, showers and environmentally-friendly meeting and event space.
The 272000 square feet (25,269.6 m²), four story building is U-shaped, divided into two wings separated by a courtyard. This layout allows natural light to penetrate from more than 600 windows that surround the building. The courtyard is being converted into a parking structure with priority parking for low-emitting vehicles.
The roof of the parking structure will feature an 8041 square feet (747 m²) sky garden that will be accessible from the second floor. Rain is collected in a 41,329-gallon cistern underneath the ground floor and used to irrigate plants and grass on the roof.
The building lowers utility costs in part due to a building envelope consisting of highly insulated walls and roofs combined with 600 high performance windows. The escalator slows down when no one is using it, thereby reducing energy usage by as much as 30 percent when compared to standard models.
A sophisticated HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
system allows for individualized control of tenant spaces and increased occupant comfort. Solar thermal panels provide hot water and cooling to the building and non-toxic construction materials and coatings improve the indoor air quality.