Event Description

Join the Illinois Green Alliance for the first building tour of 2026 at the iconic Chicago Board of Trade as we learn the history of the building and its journey to LEED Gold Certification.  

Tour guests will be guided through multiple floors of the building with the Chief Engineer, who will give an overview of key equipment that help support the building. The tour will highlight major upgrades completed over the years that helped the building achieve and maintain LEED Gold and discuss how these improvements contribute to overall utility savings. The group will also explore plumbing updates and get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the floors still under construction, with a discussion on challenges for any new construction in a historic building. Finally, you’ll hear from the property manager on why certifications such as LEED are important not only for sustainability initiatives, but also from a leasing and marketability standpoint. 

About the Chicago Board of Trade 

In 1925, the Chicago Board of Trade commissioned architects Holabird & Root to design a new home for their operations. The building officially opened its doors on June 9, 1930, and has been an iconic staple of the Chicago skyline ever since. Over the years, the building has undergone many renovations, including adding 60,000 square feet of trading space floor in 1997, updating to electronic trading terminals in 2000, and undergoing an extensive $20 million renovation in 2005.  It received its first LEED certification in 2016 under LEED 2009 Existing Buildings and Operations and Maintenance at Level Silver. Then in 2021, recertified to LEED v4.1 to Gold Level.