Here are a couple updates to the Green Business Incubator entry from November 2006. An expanded article in the Illinois Real Estate Journal describes the history of the site's redevelopment, including input from Chicago Alderman Manny Flores. From Alicia Dorr's article:
Flores was looking for something innovative for the building all along, so when Bursak came to him with his idea, saying yes was easy.“It’s a unique structure. It’s always been used for employment, so we were looking for uses that were creative in terms of economic growth,” Flores says. “The green economy is in an embryonic stage globally, so we have a market advantage.
"To get it to the next level we need to do more than simply require building a green roof,” Flores says. “The next level would be to get people excited about green building, and create incentives. It’s not just smart development. It’s smart growth.”
It's a theme we're seeing more frequently in large cities: being ahead of the curve with regards to worldchanging initiatives and visionary practices. Chicago's mayor has been praised for his efforts in this field, and Alderman Flores should get similar laurels for his work with Green Exchange.
And one more news item from Green Exchange: the development has a redesigned web site and online forum for sustainable businessfolks to network and share advice.
