Thursday, August 12, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Green condominiums in Evanston

Going Green in Evanston is easy at the new Winthrop Club Condominiums.

This 96 unit complex was designed to meet the stringent LEED standards of the U.S. Green Council. L.E.E.D. (LEED) stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and is intended to provide building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

The goals of building green include the efficient use of energy, water, and other resources, the protection of occupant health and improvement of employee productivity, and the reduction of waste, pollution, and environmental erosion.

More than 35 different credits were obtained at Winthrop Club in LEED's five rating categories, which include sustainable site measures, water and energy conservation, characteristics of materials, resources and indoor environmental quality.

The building features: High performance glass windows, a Green roof system to reduce heat absorption and help keep surrounding areas cooler and Managed storm water runoff while collecting water for irrigation. In addition its downtown Evanston location makes a low impact on the environment with easy walking access to shopping, Metra train and CTA bus stations.

Increased awareness of environmental issues such as the BP Gulf oil spill is expected to drive growth in green building. According to environmental trade publication EL Insights, the total U.S. green building market is projected to increase from $71 billion at present, to an estimated $173 billion by 2015.

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Foreclosures a blight on market

In Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times David Roeder has an artical about foreclosures with a few quotes from appraiser Michael Walsh.

Check out the article Foreclosures a blight on market