A worker walks into the back of the Conservatory Apartments in Garfield Park on Aug. 2, 2023. The apartments are being constructed to the Passive House standard that combines technology for ventilation, insulation and airtightness with design solutions that help retain heat in the winter and keep it out in the summer.
Founded in 2007, Phius certified its first property in 2010, according to the company. The nonprofit’s co-founder, Katrin Klingenberg, built the first residential Passive House project, a single-family home, in the U.S. in Urbana in the early aughts. Chicago’s building code was changed to accommodate the Passive House standard in 2022 with the adoption of the Chicago Energy Transformation Code, which allows Phius-certified buildings as an alternative method of compliance with building energy codes. A statewide building energy code will be implemented soon, Elnecave said.
The next Passive House multifamily building expected to be completed, likely by the end of the year, is the 43-unit affordable and supportive care housing at the Conservatory Apartments in Garfield Park.
A project that recently broke ground is Fifth City Commons, a $38 million, 43-unit affordable housing development in East Garfield Park being constructed by the Preservation of Affordable Housing, a national nonprofit development organization. 548 Enterprise’s two multifamily Passive House projects are expected to break ground either at the end of this year or early next year.