Construction Completed on Chicago Housing Complex Built to Passive House Standards
Architecture and Firm Skender, completed construction on Fifth City Commons, serving as the gereral contractor. The 43-unit, 60,000-square-foot affordable housing complex is located on Chicago’s West Side.
The new complex will provide affordable housing to East Garfield Park residents with incomes ranging from 30% to 80% of the area’s median income, and all units were built to Passive House standards of sustainable energy use.
According to RE Journals, Construction on the property began in July 2023 and was completed in November 2024. The new, three-story facility includes community rooms, a resident terrace and fitness room, laundry facilities, and on-site management offices, in addition to 43 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Designed as an all-electric facility, Fifth City Commons features mature landscaping, EV charging stations, and extensive bicycle parking. The building is also solar ready, which will allow for further reduction of energy costs for residents by providing a sustainable power source that aligns with the energy efficiency goals of Passive House principles. Pursuing Passive House certification required thorough planning and collaboration between Skender, the owner, and the architect, including continuous testing to ensure the building met strict standards for air tightness, an essential metric for Passive House compliance.
