Burnham’s Blog

The City of Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB) offers multiple plan review tracks for residential, commercial, structural, and major development projects within the City of Chicago. Each review process is designed to expedite construction projects of various scopes and complexities and provide design and construction teams with the most efficient service per project type.

As of 2017, the City currently offers three different plan review tracks - the Easy Permit Process, Standard Plan Review, and the Developer Services Program. Direct Developer Services, a track designed for complex projects or major developments, was introduced last year.

image credit: Fineas Anton

Los Angeles joins an expanding list of major American cities that require buildings to conduct energy benchmarking. The ambitious City of Los Angeles Existing Buildings Energy and Water Efficiency Program (EBEWE Program) went into effect this year and is particularly progressive because it requires auditing and retro-commissioning in addition to benchmarking.

As City of Denver’s metro-area population growth continues, the need for more housing with access to transportation and walkable amenities remains a priority. However, the City is also contending with planning for a sustainable and resilient city by avoiding sprawl due to population increase. Previously profiled in a recent urban planning overview, in this post, we’ll further examine some of the ways that the City of Denver is approaching these challenges and how strategic planning can benefit mid- and large-sized cities growing similarly across the country.

image credit: Aditya Chinchure

The United State Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) development of rules to address lead-based paint renovation, repair, and painting in public and commercial buildings has been a complex and contentious process. The Agency’s work on the rules has been significantly impacted by industry and public interest group litigation. Now, the Trump administration’s policies may also affect the regulation of lead paint renovation activities in non-residential buildings. The rules’ status has important implications for building owners and managers, contractors, developers, and anyone else involved in building maintenance and renovation.

Chicago's Willis Tower redevelopment project is well underway, and the icon of Chicago architecture formerly known as the Sears Tower will see its first major upgrades since 1985. We previously covered the plans for the historic building and the start of work on the superstructure this year, but with permitting complete for demolition and the lower level retail phase of the project, we’d like to provide a behind the scenes look at the permit process so far for Chicago’s most famous skyscraper.image credit: Jack Young via Unsplash