Greening Chicago's Sears Tower: Urban Industrial Sustainability, Par Excellence

Chicago's Sears Tower is undergoing an ambitious, five-year green renovation including the building of a 50-story luxury hotel next door. The $350 million face lift could make Sears Tower the highest building in the world to attain LEED certification. Engineers say the changes will reduce electricity consumption by 80 percent, conserve 24 million gallons of water annually and create 3,600 news jobs.

Included in the plans are more than 30,000 square feet of roof gardens, replacement of 16,000 window panes with energy efficient models, water-reducing bathroom fixtures, solar panels on 90th floor to heat the building's water, wind turbines, health and fitness facilities, a fleet of energy efficient maintenance vehicles and a learning center on ground floor to inform the public about the green efforts. Further, the building's concrete Plaza will be transformed into a green park.

A website dedicated to the improvements – called Transforming an Icon – states that the changes will conserve more than 68,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Pushing public transportation and providing an abundance of bicycle racks, tenants are encouraged to reduce energy consumption during the commute to work. One of the tower's selling points is the Courtesy Bicycle Program. The free use of rental bicycles for tenants to run errands or exercise is included in the lease. Bikers are provided with a lock, helmet, strobe lights and even a reflector leg band.

The Sears Tower will be renamed Willis Tower after its new owners, Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance brokerage responsible for the building's green renovations. At the new Willis Tower, leasing is available at 1,000 s.f. to 50,000 s.f. and will appeal to businesses who wish to project a green image with their brand. Square foot rates range anywhere from $16 to $21 net, and according to Derek Rolison in Leasing, 85 percent of the building's capacity is already filled, “and that number is growing quickly.” The tower's rental rates falls below Chicago's average of $29 per square foot rate for downtown commercial real estate.

Due to the economy, some Chicago realtors forecast a frightening 50 increase in commercial vacancy over the next two years. The Sears-Willis makeover proves that sustainability is not only economically feasible, but in the age of sustainability awareness, it can even be profitable. The tower's features will likely be the deal-clincher for businesses scouting for office space. Given the choice of leasing an office at the new green Sears Tower or at a nearby building, for the same cost, which would you take?