Opus has been retained to design-build a 183,000-square-foot office for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in Itasca, Illinois, which will serve as the organization’s new national headquarters.
Groundbreaking will be taking place June 16 with official construction beginning next month. The project is scheduled for fall 2017 completion.
AAP, a professional membership organization of 64,000 pediatricians, and their broker and consultant JLL, worked with Opus on vetting several sites before purchasing an 11.15-acre property in the Hamilton Lakes Business Park that will house 480 employees.
The five-story building will feature 10-foot floor-to-ceiling windows with colored vertical exterior fins to reduce solar heat gain, and a two-story dual entrance lobby serving as the main entrance and a central hub for AAP’s conference center and visitor activity.
With workspaces tailored for each of the numerous departments within the organization, the office will have areas for educational training, video recording of practice procedures and demonstrations, conferences, outdoor meetings and historical archival storage and display with documents dating back decades to show the legacy of pediatrics throughout the eras.
“The AAP’s child health mission is unique and our new headquarters will serve multiple functions as a home for the profession of pediatrics and our staff,” Dr. Karen Remley, executive director and chief executive officer of AAP, said.
Opus Design Build, L.L.C. will be the design builder and VOA Associates Incorporated (now a part of Stantec) will be the architect of record. Opus Development Company, L.L.C. provided development support services and Eric Kunkel and Scott Ohlander of JLL represented AAP in the transaction.
