The eco18 project at 1818 S. Wabash will have 93 condominium units with one and two-bedroom units. Units range in size from about 800 sf to nearly 1,600 sf with prices ranging from the mid-$200,000's to more than $500,000, Dwyer says. Sales for the condominiums began earlier this month with 20 reservations for units taken the first night, Dwyer says. The building will also have between 9,000 sf and 10,000 sf of retail space, such as a restaurant and service-oriented retail. The second floor of the 12-story building will be residential parking. Construction is scheduled to begin later this summer and is expected to be complete by the early part of 2009.

The 185,000-sf mixed-use building will have a 12,000-sf green roof garden and dual flush toilets that are expected to reduce water consumption by more than 30%, Dwyer says. The development will have a solar thermal collector array that is expected to produce nearly half of the building's hot water. The development will also have water source heat-pumps with water from a vertical geothermal ground loop system, which is expected to provide 75% of the heating and cooling for the building.

The city is offering to expedite the permit process to developers that use environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient designs, according to Chicago officials. The city will waive the permit consultant review fees for the project for receiving the Tier Three rating, which for this project would be approximately $50,000, Dwyer says. To qualify for the Green Permit program, projects need to be designed to be LEED certified and have "menu items" such as a green roof and renewable energy, Dwyer says.