CHICAGO — Gleaming white, with dark brown accents and tall windows that shine sea-glass green in the winter sun, the Northbrook Park District’s 2-year-old Techny Prairie fitness center issues an unmistakable invitation: Come inside! Run! Lift! Stretch! Play!
Beyond the front doors, there’s a spacious gym with dozens of children shooting hoops on shiny maple floors, as well as a busy fitness area and an elevated indoor track with sweeping views of mature trees, green playing fields, a shimmering pond and a nine-hole golf course.
But Techny Prairie’s biggest claim to fame lies largely hidden from view: 833 rooftop solar panels that helped the building become the third in the state to be verified as net-zero energy, or able to produce as much energy as it uses.
