7 Van Buren

Oak Park, Illinois

Kahler Slater was selected to design a 6-story, 44-unit multifamily building for a visionary nonprofit housing developer with a 30-year history of promoting equitable housing in their community. A mixture of affordable and market-rate units, the building demonstrates the organization’s mission to strengthen the economic diversity of the community with a financially viable model other developers can follow.

The project received Passive House and Net Zero energy certification. Using over 400 onsite photovoltaic panels, the building generates more electrical power than it uses, creating energy savings for all tenants and utility free housing for the tenants in the affordable units. These rigorous standards for energy efficiency, insulation, and building airtightness are infrequently met by developments of this size in the United States, making this project an innovative pilot for future buildings in the Midwest climate zone.

Powerful Results

Net Zero
Certification
Passive House
Certification