Chicago is known as the Windy City for a reason that has nothing to do with Mother Nature's ability to accelerate the speed of an air mass in the atmosphere. The city received the moniker due to the "hot air" that local politicians were known to spew, like when they made lofty promises—kept or unfulfilled.

Nonetheless, it does get windy in Chicago thanks to the presence of Lake Michigan. Wind-power proponents have probably taken note of this, and perhaps are thinking about leveraging this asset into creating a wind power source. At least one commercial entity already has: Testa Produce, Inc., built its new distribution facility at 4555 S. Racine Ave., in Chicago with an array of green features. One of these features: A 238-foot wind turbine at the facility's entrance.

Indeed, Testa Produce's new facility is more than a lot of hot air. It's the real deal. And it's providing a shot in the arm to the Back of the Yards Neighborhood located in the Chicago Industrial Stockyards Corridor, which has seen its share of commercial decay, residential atrophy and industrial exodus occur over the years.

This condition has begun to slowly chip away over the past few years, and took another leap in restoring Back of Yards to the vibrant Chicago neighborhood it had once served as. This started to materialize earlier in 2011 when Testa Produce, Inc., and its redevelopment team turned an otherwise unused piece of land into a thriving, sustainable distribution center. Testa Produce's new facility rests on 12.86 acres of land and is 91,300 square feet. The company supplies a variety of fresh frozen, canned and specialty fruits and vegetables, both domestic and international.

Formerly the land was the site of G.H. Hammond Packing Co., a flourishing meat packing plant and slaughterhouse during the 1900s. Now, more than 100 years later, Testa Produce has built a state-of-the-art "green" facility featuring the latest sustainable technologies. The project was completed and began operations out of the facility last March 19. Funding included a combination of Recovery Zone Bonds, New Markets Tax Credits, and Owner's Equity, with the total project cost approximately $20 million. An application will be made under the ARRA 1603 program for credits for the wind turbine and solar technologies.

Now, the triple-benefit of economic, environmental and social results are beginning to manifest. From a social standpoint, Testa's new facility has sparked much interest within the community and greatly transformed the way people look at the Back of the Yards Neighborhood, according to the project team.

According to project sources, "numerous people have called, emailed, and stopped in to ask questions about the facility and hope to get a tour of the building. They are fascinated by the unique identity of the building and are interested in learning more about the steps we are taking to go green. This educational component is a huge accomplishment."

Once the site of railroads and slaughterhouses, Back of the Yards is now seen as an up and coming, sustainable community in Chicago. While no direct decrease in local crime rates or health improvements has been recorded, the positive reputation that the Testa redevelopment has given the area has sparked a sense of pride in the community, according to Peter Testa, president and CEO of the company.

Breakthrough Endeavor

Testa Produce is the first produce distribution facility to take the "green" initiative to this level as well as the first business in the city of Chicago to feature certain characteristics of this caliber. Start with the 238-foot wind turbine at the facility's entrance—regarded as the first freestanding wind turbine in the Windy City.

In order to erect the turbine, Testa had to work with the city to develop the permitting requirements that would steer future, similar projects in Chicago. Testa uses 100% LED lighting to illuminate the office areas, freezer space, and outdoor lighting fixtures. Exclusive to Testa Produce is the 45,000- sq. ft. barreled green roof, which is made of drought-resistant plant material and is the first street-visible green roof.

The redevelopment did not lack for innovation. In addition to the green roof and use of LED lighting throughout the entire office, other notable green components include: Walkie-Rider pallet machines that run on Methanol Fuel Cells to replace battery chargers; a solar hot water system, which is the first of its kind and uses water as its primary working fluid. When all is said and done, Testa Produce hopes to be able to call itself the first LEED® Platinum Certified Refrigerated Distribution Facility in the U.S.

The success of this project was due to a collaboration of several organizations. WBS Equities served as the project consultant, Summit Design + Build the construction management team, and Epstein the architect and LEED consulting team. Each entity worked together to ensure every detail was attended to. Weekly meetings for the entire duration of the four-year long project, constant contact via phone, email, and in person, and site visits are just a few of the ways the group worked together. Epstein designed and built the facility. Once a decision was made, Summit Design + Build took steps to put that decision into action and made the appropriate accommodations to fulfill that portion of the project. WBS Equities tied all the decisions and executions together. There were several other companies who played a part. Since this was new construction, everything from electricians to landscapers needed to be on deck. The collaboration of different specialties and opinions allowed for this project to excel and flourish.

As the project began to take shape, Peter Testa noted that one of the "biggest challenge also was regarded as the biggest achievement: Overcoming the doubt and achieving something that has never been done before. When the idea for this building first came about, there was plenty of doubt and hesitation," he said. "Before this project, the thought of a freestanding wind turbine had ever existed in Chicago, a barreled green roof didn't exist, no office had been illuminated by 100% LED lighting, and no produce distribution center had gone to such extremes as we had."

Many hours of research, millions of dollars of funding, and endless amounts of determination, passion, and drive all enabled Testa Produce to move into its dream distribution facility, not only increasing the size and efficiency of the business, but also improving the quality of the environment.

Energy-efficiency Personified

The project's design was centered on the idea of sustainability, efficiency, and innovation in as many aspects as possible. The 238-foot wind turbine at the entrance of the facility, for example, will generate roughly 30% of the building's power, the project team states.

The water efficiency system consists of a 765,085-gallon water retention pond, a 140,132-gallon bio swale and permeable paver system, 45,000 square foot green roof, and 5,000-gallon internal filtered rainwater reclamation cistern. Rainwater harvesting will provide all water required to flush toilets for a typical year and ultimately will lead to a reduction of over 40% of the building's water demand. A green roof consisting of drought-resistant plant materials that require minimal irrigation inhabits 50% of Testa's roof. As stated earlier, it's regarded as the first street visible green roof and is barreled at the front of the building to create a unique green identity.

As it pertains to solar energy, Testa Produce utilizes it by means of solar panels, with 159 photovoltaic (PV) panels located on solar trees in the parking lot, as well as above the rear docks. Twenty-one solar panels, located on the roof, are specifically designed to heat 100% of the building's non-potable water using a unique solar hot water system, which is the first commercial evacuated tube collector system in the U.S. to use pure water as the working fluid.

The energy-efficient mechanical design of the building results in a 30% reduction in energy consumption, and renewable energy accounts for another 50% reduction of energy consumption, which is an estimated savings of $185,000 per year. The combination of decreased energy consumption along with the wind and solar energy savings results in an overall 57% reduction in the building's energy use. By choosing to utilize energy efficient means, the amount of energy savings Testa Produce will experience is the equivalent of approximately 175 typical U.S. Homes., according to the project team.

So what about the recycling strategies? Those are in full force too, as recycled/reused material was used not only during construction, but also on a day-to-day basis as part of normal operations. In all, 31% of the entire building is made of recycled material, and recycled construction materials include concrete, masonry, and steel. Recycled material in the flooring includes rubber and glass tiles as well as carpeting. Rapidly renewable bamboo material was used for both flooring and ceiling panels. All toilet partitions and locker-room lockers in the facility are made of 100% recycled milk cartons. Wood doors, metal door frames, and door hinges as well as fencing around the property all consist of recycled content.

In addition to recycled material, reused components were incorporated as well. Reused racking can be found in the warehouse and, moreover, all the furniture from Testa's old facility was moved and reused throughout the new building. Along the exterior of the building, granite pavers found on-site were reused to line sidewalks and walk ways, and 100% of the concrete found on site was reground and used as the base for the new exterior concrete.

Testa has implemented an extensive recycling program to recycle all paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum to maintain a 95% recycling capacity. All disposable cups, plates, and utensils are made of recycled content and Dyson hand dryers are in place in each bathroom to eliminate paper towel waste. Every pallet that is shipped from Testa is wrapped using reusable vinyl ‘Pallet Wrapz' in lieu of plastic wrap to reduce plastic waste.

ROI Being Realized

This is no garden variety green redevelopment and, thus, the question is asked: In what time frame does Testa Produce hope to establish a return on investment on what it has shelled out for all these ambitious features? You do have to spend money to make money, if not to spend money to save energy—and spend money to become a solid corporate neighbor and citizen.

Indeed, Testa Produce envisions increasing its revenue as existing and potential clients choose to do business with Testa because of the company's commitment to sustainable business practices. Economic results will also be measured through a reduction in operating expenses of the facility. The project unfortunately was not completed on time or on budget due to circumstances such as weather and construction delays. The project was completed after the anticipated finish and as a result, went slightly over budget.

Historically a family-owned and operated business, Testa's previous facility was one-third of the size of their current facility. A physical expansion led to an increased product volume. Thus the "family" is expanding thanks to a need to hire more employees. In the few months Testa has been in the new facility, its staff has grown to include additional sales staff and more hands in the warehouse. "This is merely a glimpse of the impact we will have on the community and the numerous possibilities available as the company continues to expand," noted Peter Testa.

He concluded: "The hope is that people will see what Testa has done, learn from it, and live by it. Expanding a business of this nature will lead to numerous benefits for the community. Not only economically, but environmentally and socially as well," he said.