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Chicago Tribune
House Hunter column
CHICAGO -- It is little more than a hole in the ground, but 340 on the Park is nearly 65 percent sold. The 62-story glass tower's stellar location at 340 E. Randolph St., across the street from Grant Park with unobstructed south views no doubt has been a major factor in jumpstarting sales. But for a few early buyers, the developer's claim that this is a "green design" building may help clinch the deal. Green building, a philosophy for putting together energy-efficient, healthy and environment-sensitive structures, is one of the hot topics in construction. Officials of LR Development, in a joint venture with Magellan and NNP Residential & Development, say the building in the Lakeshore East project is "on track to become Chicago's first residential tower designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards." The acronym means little to most buyers today, but a number of builders--including LR--predict it will be far more common in the future. LEED is a rating system established by the U.S. Green Building Council in the late 1990s. The council is a coalition of people in the building industry with the goal of promoting environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Advocates consider the LEED certification a kind of scorecard on energy efficiency and ecological sensitivity. Interest in LEED has grown so rapidly since its introduction that several panelists at a recent building conference here predicted that within seven to 15 years, most new commercial buildings in the U.S. will be LEED-certified. Under the program, an architect submits plans to a third party for LEED review several times before and during construction. The plans are checked, suggestions may be made and points are given in these categories: sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and environmental atmosphere, material and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design. After construction, an LEED inspector visits the project to make sure it is built as planned and a final score is tallied. Buildings are ranked (lowest to highest) certified, silver, gold and platinum. Critics say LEED's third-party inspection of plans and construction is an unnecessary expense for what good builders already do. In addition, the system does not always guarantee the promised results, they charge. Advocates of the program say a third party is the best assurance of environmentally sensitive construction. They say complaints of added costs are exaggerated, especially when factored over what they say will be a longer building life. Devised for new and existing commercial buildings and interiors, there as yet is no specific LEED standard for residential construction. But projects such as 340 on the Park, planned for 344 condos, can be submitted as a new commercial building, said Kerry Dickson, senior vice-president of LR Development. There were a variety of reasons to design to LEED standards, Dickson said. Among them: the growing interest in green design among buyers who can afford to be picky, as a way to differentiate 340 from the competition and as a response to the city's interest in sustainable design. It is "one of the pieces of the sales story," he said. Like many new buildings in the heart of Chicago, 340 will have a "green" roof, although it will be small in comparison to the size of the project, if the scale model in the sales office is accurate. Atop a bunker-like base behind the Randolph Street entrance, the "green" roof will be planted with vegetation to help reduce urban pollution. Many "green" elements in buildings involve decisions made in methods of construction, choice of building materials and internal systems, and in reduction of construction waste. Such behind-the-walls decisions are unseen and of little concern to buyers. One visible green element at 340 is the use of bamboo flooring in the living and dining area and kitchen of all condos, except for the 16 penthouses which buyers can finish as they please. Bamboo is fast growing and easier to replenish than hardwood. One-bedroom units start at $ 314,900; two-bedrooms are from $ 519,000 and three-bedroom condos begin about $ 1.1 million. The penthouses start at $ 2 million. The most radical idea for many prospective buyers may be that there is only one choice in cabinets, flooring and fixtures in the "unified design" interiors. What you see is what you get--there are no options--in the one-bedroom mock-up model in the LR sales center in the John Hancock Center. In the model, the front door opens to a foyer with a large coat closet on the left and a powder room on the right. The open living and dining space are along a wall of windows. At the back of the living room is a sleek, smallish but very stylish kitchen. A counter with Snaidero cherry cabinets, dual sinks, dishwasher and undercounter microwave separates the kitchen from the dining area. On the back wall of the kitchen is a five-burner range, refrigerator and limited counter space. The back splash is translucent glass tile. This is a model where Toto toilets are standard and the bath and powder room are comfortably sized. Composite marble tile is used for both flooring and countertops. The full bath comes with dual sinks, tub, shower and Snaidero oak cabinets. The bedroom has a good-sized linen closet and a walk-in closet. It is spacious but needs to be because this is pretty much the only storage in the condo; so clothes, vacuum, mop, ironing board, luggage, everything will be stashed here. All units have a washer and dryer hookup (in this model in a closet across the entry from the powder room) and many have outdoor balconies. Because of an exterior architectural element of the building, buyers face a choice between a windowsill 24 inches above the floor or windows from the floor to a valance 24 inches below the ceiling. No big deal. "Green is not prevalent enough in the marketplace for most people to be aware of it," sales manager Laura Davis Molk said of the reaction of most prospective buyers. What people really relate to "is that you have gone above and beyond and spent a little more on a comprehensive plan. It shows we are cutting-edge and it's not like an aesthetic sacrifice," she said. Dickson agrees there is interest in green construction "but right now it is sixth or seventh" in priority for most buyers, he said. The cost for the effort cannot be determined yet, since construction is still in the early stages. One of the final challenges is the commissioning process after the building is completed, Dickson said. "Every building has a punch list but this takes that to a new level," he said. Whatever the cost, he suggests Chicagoans may see more LEED residential buildings in the future. "I think the city is going to insist on it," Dickson observed.
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