Mortenson was selected by the Village of Oak Park for comprehensive construction management services for their new public works center. The $26.1 million building includes office space, a vehicle storage garage, a fleet maintenance area, and a material storage area using sustainable design principles.

The 150,000 square-foot building was initially designed to pursue LEED Silver certification, but as the project progressed, the team's extra efforts earned enough credits to achieve LEED Gold certification. It is the first such facility to pursue LEED certification in the state of Illinois.

The infrastructure work for the Public Works Center required coordination of relocating utilities which crossed the project site through an existing utility easement. The project needed to be carefully staged in order to ensure construction activities did not impose loads into the sewer. The building loads were transferred below the sewer through caissons, allowing excavation and repair of the sewer in the future without impacting the facility.

The 150,000 square-foot building was initially designed to pursue Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) Silver certification, but as the project progressed, the team's extra efforts earned enough credits to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Green Roof

The project incorporates an Extensive GreenGrid® Green Roof installation planted with species of Sedum. Extensive green roofs are designed to reduce urban heat island effects and rainwater run-off.

Energy & Atmosphere

The building incorporated energy conservation strategies to achieve energy savings during the operation of the building. Conservation strategies include lighting control, enhanced design of the building enclosure, and the use of energy recovery units in the heated garage areas. The new Oak Park Public Works Facility performs 40% better than ASHRAE 90.1-1999 using the LEED Energy Cost Budget methodology. This earns 6 points for EA Cr. 1.

Material & Resources

The project incorporated 5% recycled content materials and 20% local/regionally manufactured materials to earn a point for MR Cr. 4.1 & 5.1.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Construction techniques were implemented and low-emitting materials were selected to reduce the amount of VOC off-gassing and improve building occupant comfort both during and after construction. These efforts earned IE Cr. 3.1-3.2 and 4.1-4.4.