CHICAGO—A multi-hotel complex and convention center planned for development near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport aims to set the standard for eco-friendly architecture and design in the hospitality industry, and boost the city’s efforts to be a global leader in the green movement.
A Chicago Convention Center development promises to be the world’s first zero carbon platinum LEED convention complex, aiming for zero carbon emissions and a 100 percent allergen-free structure. Plans call for the greenest building standards, including state-of-the-art technology that supports “guestrooms of the future,” equipped with high-tech amenities that encourage sustainable behavior. Business guests will be able to receive carbon credits for their stay.
“This development not only positions Chicago as a leader in the sustainability movement, it encourages the hospitality industry worldwide to set the bar higher when it comes to green design,” said Anshoo Sethi, lead developer of the project for A Chicago Convention Center.
On-site Fuel Cell Plant Planned
Other eco-conscious elements of the center include: an on-site hydrogen phosphoric fuel cell plant, extensive use of solar technology, geothermal heating/cooling system, rainwater collection and recycling, ice-based thermal energy storage, green roof, and hybrid shuttle vans to name a few.
The development will be financed, in part, through the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5,” created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
“We are grateful to be a part of a community that sees the importance in eco-friendly development, and our hope is that A Chicago Convention Center will give visitors to the city a new and enriching experience that will have them returning again and again,” says Sethi, a longtime Chicago resident.
