RANCHO VERDE ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK

CHICAGO’S FIRST ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK

Farr Associates designed the Midwest’s first eco-industrial park for Christy Webber Landscapes on a reclaimed 12-acre brownfield site in Chicago. Located on a rail spur to reduce the need to truck topsoil and gravel, the park serves the landscape industry, completing local supply chains and creating markets for the reuse of “scrap” landscape materials. Urban design standards require that buildings surround the central stormwater pond, encouraging greater interaction among the park’s tenants. 

The park achieves a series of firsts in high performance infrastructure: the access street is the first public street in Chicago made of pervious pavers; all the stormwater is filtered via lot-line bioswales and is retained in a central bio-retention basin; the public lighting introduces full-cutoff induction lighting to the City of Chicago; and a first-ever vertical axis wind turbine powers infrastructure and provides a visual focus. The award-winning Christy Webber Landscapes Headquarters is the centerpiece of the park.

Client: Christy Webber Landscapes

Location: Chicago, IL

Year: 2004