Sweet perks
Beehives are a welcome benefit at the top of some Chicago high-rises.
CHICAGO — Bill Whitney rolled up to the loading dock of a high-rise with 9,000 honeybees riding shotgun in his Chevy.
The pickup truck, sporting license plates that read “B SAVER,” was overflowing with the parts needed to construct three hives for all those bees on the 29thfloor roof of 540 West Madison, the home to firms such as Bank of America, biopharmaceutical company Shire and slot machine maker Everi.
While human worker bees buzz about in offices below, the rooftops of some Chicago commercial buildings are becoming hubs of activity in their own right as landlords employ tens of thousands of bees in an effort to help the environment and rope in some eco-friendly tenants.
Building owners and managers say it’s an easy formula: Set aside a few thousand dollars in the budget, contract with a beekeeper and, come autumn, enjoy fresh honey. Some view the hives as an amenity, like rooftop gardens or water recycling programs. Tenants appreciate the honey and the efforts to help save the honeybees, a species under threat in the U.S. from pesticides, loss of habitat and parasites. And it’s cool, building managers say. “It’s exciting because it’s not something you would expect in an urban area,” said Louise Harney, a vice president and group manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, the firm that manages 540 West Madison.
Whitney, a veteran beekeeper and owner of City Bee Savers, started installing bees on high-rise rooftops about two years ago. He’ll tend hives on top of at least seven buildings this year. That’s in addition to his work tending hives elsewhere in the Chicago area.
There are precautions Whitney must take to make sure the hives stay healthy on a high-rise. With the thousands of bees he had driven from a farm outside Savannah, Ga., just days before, Whitney brought straps and bricks to put on top of the new hives to help secure them, protecting them from the strong winds that can blow above the city.
He’ll come back throughout the summer and maintain the hives, watching for signs of strain from a mite inflicting damage on beehives across the country.
Come winter, the bees do their best to keep the queen warm, with little activity outside the hive. Though a bee lives only four to six weeks in the summer, a healthy hive will survive the cold.
Nestled in a mostly shaded area of the roof, the hives face north. While tenants also have access to the deck, the bees aren’t aggressive and generally keep to themselves. Hopefully, green space on the roof will encourage the bees to stay close. If not, they’ll seek out the city’s flowers, either in parks or from weeds in sidewalk cracks.