Renaissance School Fund's Phyllis Lockett and Roosevelt U's Miroslava Krug kicked it off, with Phyllis explaining how the 88 charter schools in Chicago have no funding for facilities. They often borrow space from the Archdiocese of Chicago, but many are looking for inexpensive leasable space. Miroslava talked about Roosevelt's new 32-story tower in the South Loop. The $190 million project will include student services facilities, classrooms, and residences. Roosevelt is also evaluating changes at its Schaumburg campus because of increasing enrollment.

Kaplan Higher Education's Steve Altschul and Campus Advantage Inc.'s Dan Oltersdorf see changes in their companies' real estate, as well. Kaplan University which used to be all online, has recently built campuses in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and northwest Indiana for adult students to have a place to meet advisors, teachers and take introductory courses. Dan's company creates student housing and says he's seeing Millennial students demand more, from lazy rivers (as in, winding pools and inner tubes) to business centers. Dan sees student housing growth in the southern states, but Chicago will lead the Midwest, with a projected 2.3% increase in students this decade.

It was the star of The Dark Knight, but now it's also earned an Energy Star: 330 North Wabash, a 52-story mixed-use tower managed by Prime Group Realty Trust, is now in the top 25% of the most energy efficient buildings nationwide. Management reduced energy by reevaluating building automation systems, making lighting and heating adjustments based on actual occupancy, implementing energy audits, and informing tenants of their energy performance and encouraging reductions.

Celebrating their work on the LEED-certification of 222 W. Adams, Tishman Speyer hosted the Chicago USGBC last night. Independent Recycling Services' Patrick O'Connor, Tishman Speyer's Ryan Tinus, and Goby's Josh Schubert are working together on the certification, due 3Q10, which is slated to make 222 W. Adams the tallest LEED building (34 feet taller than Philly's Comcast Center). New recycling initiatives and green tenant build-outs are helping the building get certification.

We snapped Sonoma Construction's Lisa Runquist, Rex Electric's Eric Smith, and Pepper Construction's Matt Claggett, before Eric went up to speak on the panel. Eric says that LEED standards may have been tough for some subcontractors, but the numbers for electrical efficiency were laid out for electricians pretty simply by the USGBC. One of his favorite new green products is a wireless motion sensor with a ten-year battery life, which conserves both energy and work for electricians. Rex is working on the Adler School of Professional Psychology.

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