`Green” building is a hot topic.
Currently popular with architects and a growing contingent of officials concerned with cost savings on building maintenance to quality of life issues, green building is the cutting edge of architecture and construction.
The idea is gaining a toehold in commercial real estate, but has yet to make significant inroads with most home buyers.
There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is a lack of available product.
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So I was intrigued when I learned about Sheffield Green, a new three-flat in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Contractor Garrett Obluck of GO-UP Development has incorporated a lot of green building ideas and materials in this project on a site once occupied by a dilapidated wood frame two-flat.
Furthermore, the building is registered in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for certification as a “green” building within a year after it is completed. The council is among the organizations attempting to define Earth-friendly construction.
This is one of several new buildings on a block that is undergoing the housing equivalent of a generational shift. New, mostly masonry, three-flats are replacing wood frame buildings on both sides of this stretch of Sheffield Avenue between Belmont Avenue and Wrigley Field.
This is likely the only building on the block with bamboo flooring and cabinetry, radiant-heated floors that are part of a dual-heating system and grid tied-photovoltaic panels to reduce energy costs.
After building about two dozen projects in the city, Obluck says he realized his developments, though small, could have a more positive environmental impact.
“My job is to think of the neighborhood as well as future occupants of the building,” he said. “These buildings have little footprints but they add up.”
The steel frame structure, designed by Kevin Pierce, a principal at Farr & Associates, Chicago, has a brick facade and fiber cement siding.
The concrete foundation includes recycled content and Obluck says the cellulose, which is recycled newsprint treated with chemicals, has a particularly high R value, a measure of insulation effectiveness.
Hot water tubing under the bamboo flooring provides radiant heat which I count as a plus. Radiant heating is not only comfortable but makes it easy on the toes hitting the floor when getting out of bed on cold mornings.
The forced-air gas system can be used as a bridge to keep indoor temperatures even in periods of dramatic temperature change when it may take the radiant heat a day or two to adjust, Obluck said.
The decks and balconies will have Trex, a combination of wood and plastics. Some of the interior finishes are made of recycled materials as well and indoor air quality should benefit because an effort has been made to use products with no or low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Countertops in the kitchens and baths are made of concrete and recycled glass. Obluck makes the counters as well as a recycled glass tile to be used in the bathrooms at his own manufacturing facility. The kitchen sinks are recycled granite. Energy Star appliances are planned throughout the building.
The reaction of buyers shopping the building has been mixed, says Celeste Karan, sales agent with Keller Williams Lincoln Park Realty.
“Either people do not understand it or they love it,” she said. “The majority of people think the finishes are neat.”
One unit, a duplex, is sold. The other two units are a second floor simplex with 1,350 square feet with two bedrooms and 2 baths and a two-level duplex with 2,200 square feet, three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, at the top of the building.
The stairway is along the north wall; the front door of each unit opens in the middle of the condo. The living/dining room and kitchen are to the left of the door at the front overlooking the street. Buyers will have a good view of the “L” tracks a block away.
The bedrooms are to the right of the front entrance at the back of the building. They overlook the alley and the planned covered carport where there will be space for one car per unit, though each will have to be smaller than a Hummer.
The simplex has caramel-toned bamboo flooring and trim. The living and dining room is 20 by 14 feet and is separated from the 10-by-9-foot galley kitchen by a counter with a concrete and recycled glass countertop.
The south wall of the living/dining area has two large picture windows overlooking a large one-story commercial lighting supplier next door. The big windows provide a lot of light to the space and, on a clear day, probably have a nice view of the distant city skyline.
Designed for the south exposure, the windows are touted as a passive solar energy source providing light and warmth to the room.
While I understand the design theory, such an expanse of glass might give me pause as a serious buyer in this fast-changing part of town. Let’s hope the business of the low-rise neighbor continues to — boom because the view could be deadly if another building goes up next door.
Behind the kitchen is another bath, a bedroom or home office, about 10 by 10 feet, and the master bedroom at the back of the building.
About 18 by 11 feet, the room has good light from the windows on the south and west wall and access to a small deck.
The duplex upstairs has a similar plan but the second level has a lot more room. This level has the master bedroom and bath and an open 14-by-12-foot space at the top of the stairs which could be used for play area or family room.
This is a building with a lot of ideas but I wish the architect and builder had been as creative with the design and floor plan as they tried to be with new technology.
No doubt a chunk of the building budget was gobbled by the steel frame–Obluck said steel prices skyrocketed just as building began–but the combination of the brick with a light-toned fiber cement siding, which is not inexpensive, is unfortunate when compared with neighboring buildings.
Inside, the floor plans are familiar and surprisingly 19th Century for a building that is trying to be 21st Century in its construction. The kitchens lack cabinet space, the bathrooms are small and the closet space is quite limited.
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It might have been better to have one generous bedroom with a single, large bath or almost a loft-like space than to try to conform to the two-bedroom, two-bath formula of the simplex where the washer/dryer combo is tucked under the slope of the stairway in the outside hall.
The doorway at the back of the units–in the master bedroom in the simplex–opens to an ugly concrete block stairwell and makes for an uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, in my book.
The duplex fares better because of the larger square footage, but this is a walk-up building with 9-foot ceilings. The additional height in the ceilings is welcome no doubt inside the units, but adds a few more steps to those climbing the stairs to the front door of the upper level condos.
Those who have small children and who regularly lug infant equipment–or hope to do so in the near future–might want to give this some serious thought.
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Sheffield Green
Address: 3324 N. Sheffield Ave.
Developer: GO-UP Development
Phone: 773-883-5709
Web: www.greenhomechicago.com
Description: Condominums with two or three bedrooms, 2 or 2 1/2-baths in three-unit building. Single-floor two-bedroom, 2-bath unit has 1,350 square feet, priced at $519,900. Three-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath duplex of 2,200 square feet, $799,000. Covered parking space included. Monthly assessments $187 or $257. Prices as of July 11.
Amenities: Nine-foot ceilings; bamboo flooring, trim and cabinets; dual-system heating, air conditioning. Sparkling concrete countertops, recycled glass tiles in baths, Energy Star appliances and photovoltaic panels.
Neighborhood: Near Wrigley Field, restaurants, shopping and public transportation.
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