Last month, Chicago-based Fifield Realty Corp., the development arm of Fifield Companies, celebrated the one-year anniversary of NEXT Apartments – its 28-story, 310-unit rental tower in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The luxury high-rise, which opened in September of 2016 and is now 97-percent leased, has earned Three Green Globes certification from the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a commercial building certification equivalent to LEED Gold.
NEXT Apartments is the only new-construction building in Chicago to be awarded Three Green Globes certification. A project can be awarded between one to four Green Globes, with three earned for best practices regarding energy, water and environmental efficiency.
“From the outset, NEXT was designed with the goals of improving energy efficiency, water conservation, CO2 emissions reduction and indoor environmental quality, and with environmentally sensitive building materials,” said Steve Fifield, chairman of Fifield Companies, in a statement.
Fifield noted the building’s location in a dense urban area with easy access to public transportation also factored into its green certification, as NEXT allows residents freedom from their cars on a daily basis. “We’re honored to be recognized by the GBI for all our strategic efforts, and to be the first building in Chicago to receive the prestigious Three Green Globes designation.”
Fifield Realty Corp. used water-conserving fixtures and appliances at NEXT, as well as LED lighting, smart building controls and HVAC systems to help meet the Three Green Globes standard. Green roofs were incorporated to improve insulation of the roofing system and, along with daylighting, to improve views and overall well-being. NEXT performed highest in GBI’s indoor environmental quality area, with low-emitting interior paints, adhesives, sealants and flooring used in support of the goal, along with optimal ventilation, thermal comfort and high performing acoustical materials.
In conjunction with NEXT’s one-year anniversary, the developer also expanded and enhanced two of the tower’s most popular amenity spaces – the fitness center and golf room. NEXT’s fitness center was reconfigured by Technogym to include more open space; a new treadmill, elliptical trainer and multi-function circuit; and two new stair-climbers. The golf room features a new golf simulator, Swingtrack™ by Visual Sports™, with precision ball-flight tracking and realistic course design on more than 85 world-renowned courses, as well as multi-sports capability with over 15 interactive sports offerings.