Adaptive Reuse in Gurnee, IL at U-Haul Center of Gurnee
Building History
In 1947, Joseph Rashkow founded a humble supply company on the south side of Chicago named the Arrow Lumber Company. The single store expanded into two stores under the leadership of Rashkow's son, Ronald Rashkow. In 1971, Ronald changed the name of the company to Handy Andy. Eventually there were 72 Handy Andy stores spread across Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The company supplied a mix of lumber, hardware, plumbing and home/lawn goods.
The Gurnee Handy Andy building was built in 1980 and U-Haul acquired the building in 2017. Adaptive reuse building conversions allow U-Haul to promote infill development to meet citizens’ needs while preserving the natural resources and land normally required for new construction. Adaptive reuse also allows resources to be focused on integrating environmentally thoughtful features into the existing building rather than creating waste in the form of demolition and using valuable resources for new construction.
Environmental Impact
Serving U-Haul customers since 2017, this facility was built through adaptive reuse of an abandoned building. Adaptive reuse promotes infill development in an effort to strengthen communities, with the following benefits achieved at this site:
- 638 tons of metal manufacturing & transportation prevented
- 2,614 tons of new concrete pours avoided
- 3,276 tons of construction and demolition debris prevented
Energy-efficiency and waste-reduction programs at this facility provide the following estimated benefits each year for the Gurnee community:
- 3,612,014 lbs greenhouse gas emissions prevented
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Steel Production 638 tons (579 tonnes) of steel manufacturing and delivery saved to date
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Concrete 2,614 tons (2,372 tonnes) of new concrete pours avoided to date
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Emissions 3,612,014 lbs (1,638,399 kgs) of greenhouse gas emissions prevented
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Landfill Debris 3,276 lbs (1,486 kgs) of construction debris prevented
