The Overlook at Oakbrook
Electrical distribution, tenant metering, and shell construction—supported by an equipment solution that reduced procurement lead times from years to weeks.
Infrastructure for the tenant spaces that follow.
LH Block Electric provided electrical distribution, tenant metering, and shell electrical work for The Overlook at Oakbrook, a seven-building commercial development across from Oakbrook Center in Chicago’s western suburbs. Our scope covered six of the development’s seven electrical services and tenant metering for buildings with multiple tenant spaces.
Completed in 2023, our work established base building electrical systems to support future tenant improvements. That meant planning distribution and tenant panels around anticipated needs while providing basic lighting and power for rooftop HVAC units and exterior signage. We also installed all required fire alarm conduits and exit signage.
Our electrical scope
- Electrical distribution work associated with six of the development’s seven electrical services.
- Tenant metering arrangements for buildings serving multiple tenant spaces.
- Basic lighting within the commercial shell spaces.
- A distribution panel at each tenant space, planned around anticipated future electrical needs.
- Power for exterior signage.
- Power connections for rooftop HVAC units (RTUs).
- Installation of all required fire alarm conduits and exit signage.
- An alternative metering equipment arrangement using individual 400- and 600-amp CT cabinets with built-in disconnects and a tap box system.
The challenge: equipment that could not be ordered
Construction took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, when material shortages and manufacturing disruptions made electrical equipment difficult to obtain. The original design called for modular, bolt-together tenant metering equipment.
The specified manufacturer was not accepting orders or providing quotes. With lead times measured in years, waiting for the original equipment would have put the construction schedule at risk.
Our solution: a different equipment approach
LH Block Electric used its equipment knowledge and sourcing experience to develop an alternative metering arrangement. Individual 400- and 600-amp current transformer (CT) cabinets with built-in disconnects, together with a tap box system, provided a workable approach to the development’s distribution and tenant metering requirements.
The revised arrangement was approved by ComEd and the Village of Oak Brook. By adapting the equipment selection to what could be sourced, we kept the electrical work moving through a difficult procurement environment.
From years to weeks.
Our alternative reduced equipment procurement lead times from years to weeks, helping keep the project on schedule. The change gave construction a practical path forward when the originally specified metering equipment was unavailable.
A completed foundation for future build-outs
The completed electrical scope provided distribution, tenant metering, basic lighting, and power for rooftop equipment and exterior signs. It prepared the shell spaces for the individual tenant improvements that would follow.
This project shows how installation experience, equipment sourcing, and coordination can work together to support a commercial development under challenging supply conditions.
Explore our power distribution services, electrical design and installation, and tenant build-outs and renovations.
The spaces supported
by the infrastructure.
Exterior and overview photos provide context for the development. LH Block’s scope was the electrical distribution, tenant metering, and shell work described above.
Metering, distribution,
and construction progress.
See the equipment arrangements, shell electrical work, and installation progress. Select any photo to see the full image.
Build the electrical plan
around your next step.
Talk with LH Block Electric about electrical distribution, tenant metering, and shell construction in Chicagoland and the western suburbs. Call 630-830-9680 or share your project plans.
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