CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enwave North America (Enwave) and The 601W Companies (601W) are partnering to cool Chicago’s iconic old main post office – The Post Office – using North America’s largest ice battery and chilled-water distribution system.
Building owner 601W is currently redeveloping the 2.8 million-square-foot downtown property. 601W’s energy partner, Enwave, will extend its chilled-water system to serve the 1920s-era structure, located above the Eisenhower Expressway next to the Chicago River.
“Working with Enwave provides owners and future tenants with a number of advantages, including a higher level of reliability and redundancy that would be difficult to achieve solely using on-site chillers,” notes Greg Prather, senior vice president and director of development at JLL, which is managing the project. “Additionally, there are a number of architectural benefits as we eliminate the need for cooling towers, allowing for larger and more pleasant outdoor spaces for tenants.”
“601W has exciting plans for The Post Office that will likely stimulate additional development in the area,” says Jim Rylowicz, Enwave Chicago’s business development manager. “By extending our pipeline, we’re investing in the area’s growth and giving developers and owners an opportunity to reduce capital costs while also reducing their carbon footprint and freshwater consumption.”
New York-based 601W recently began transforming the vacant two-block-long building into a premier riverside destination with a vital mix of Class A office space and amenities. Enwave Chicago will phase in chilled-water service to the building starting in spring 2018, with full service projected by spring 2019 when the JLL-managed property opens to tenants.
Enwave Chicago serves 48 million square feet of building space from five interconnected plants in Chicago’s Loop, West Loop, South Loop and River North using “ice battery” technology. The company produces ice at night during off-peak electricity hours. The ice is stored and then allowed to melt slowly the next day to meet customers’ chilled-water demand. This reduces stress on the electricity grid and lowers the company’s carbon footprint.
About Enwave North America. Enwave owns and operates 12 district energy systems in the U.S. and Canada: Chicago; Houston; Las Vegas (2); Los Angeles; New Orleans; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Toronto, London and Windsor, Ont.; and Charlottetown, PEI. In each community, the company operates highly efficient thermal energy plants that distribute chilled water, hot water and/or steam to customer buildings.
About The 601W Companies. The principals of 601W oversee one of America’s leading private real estate acquisition, ownership, development and management portfolios in the country. Over the past 25 years, 601W has acquired substantial and well-known commercial properties throughout the country, aggregating 45 million square feet, with a collective value in excess of $8 billion. In relation to these deals, 601W has raised more than $2 billion in equity, mostly from longstanding investors, and has consummated transactions involving major office buildings, including 12 in Manhattan.