Skokie’s First Bank & Trust Earns Gold LEED Certification

Skokie’s First Bank & Trust recently earned a Gold-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its building at 4007 Dempster St.

The LEED program identifies and rewards best practices for buildings’ energy, water and natural resource performance.

The 3,600-square-foot building was built on a former gas station and the bank had to clean up contaminated soil that was left behind, according to a Patch blog post. 

Shortly after the bank opened, a 2,200 square-foot green roof with a dozen small plants was added and the green roof has stormwater capacity of 3,956 gallons and soil depth of 6 inches, Skokie Review reported.

Other eco-friendly elements of the building include geo-thermal heating, which extracts energy embedded in the earth; energy water plumbing to reduce potable water by 42 percent; recycling 90 percent of all construction waste and using materials from recycled sources, the newspaper reported.

The bank also orchestrated the efforts of five utility companies to relocate a block of utility poles, to widen the alley for Skokie business and residential use.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working in this eco-friendly building for over a full season now,” said LuAnn Stempel, 4007 N. Dempster Street Branch Manager, said in a statement. “Our customers enjoy seeing the rooftop and trellis greenery bloom in the spring, and often comment on the natural lighting and airy feeling of the space, afforded by the floor to ceiling windows and high clerestory windows.”