Artis Wilmette Receives Honorable Mention at GBI’s 2021 Green Globes Project of the Year Awards

Artis Senior Living in Wilmette represents the confluence of several important needs being met simultaneously: The need for senior housing options in the Village of Wilmette and surrounding area, the developer’s need for a viable site that would support a successful venture, and the opportunity to bring sustainability and wellness to a senior living community to support the health and wellbeing of residents seeking a supportive environment, including memory care services.

The focus for sustainability, health & wellness, and resiliency was directed towards the development of a project that meets the requirement of the residents and community operations. The project redeveloped a parcel that previously held an antiquated and energy-inefficient structure, and the site is further enhanced by its adjacency to a new affordable housing development which has the potential to provide clinical and support staff for the community with an extraordinarily short, walkable commute.

In order to achieve approval of this development, the team was assembled and then approached the Village Board–made up of community residents–and educated them around Green Building and the GBI. This coincided with the Village’s commitment to increased sustainability through their endorsement of the Greenest Region Compact (GRC2). The Design and Consultant team, along with Artis Senior Living, was able to inform and convince the approval body that Green Globes would achieve numerous goals and recommendations they’ve set forth under their Wilmette Sustainability Plan and become the first Green Globes certified building in the Village.

At project conception, the design and development team set a baseline objective of One Globe. Through the hard work and resourcefulness of the design team, coupled with the skill and efficiency of the general contractor and its subcontractors, they were able to deliver a building that exceeded that initial objective by earning Two Globes and do so without incurring additional cost to the owner.  This collaborative approach: Bring a qualified and credible team, clearly convey the benefits of the system, relate the system to the needs of the municipality, and offer the precedent they may need to feel secure in the decision—is a surefire way to ensure the continued expansion and adoption of Green Globes throughout the nation.

The final project design and construction achieved all of the performance targets set by the team. These targets included goals for energy performance, water use reduction, use of environmentally friendly materials, and an indoor air quality environment that supports the community’s residents. Ultimately, the community scored and achieved a higher Green Globes certification than originally anticipated. The development, in the end, achieved its goals and increased the awareness within the community as the first Green Globes certified project within the Village!