J.C. Penney Begins Building First LEED Store

J.C. Penney Begins Building First LEED Store
October 27, 2008

Plano, Texas-based J. C. Penney Co. Inc. broke ground on its first store registered and expected to obtain LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on Oct. 23 in Fairview, Texas. The 115,000-sq.-ft. JCPenney store will open in August 2009 as an anchor of the new 1 million-sq.-ft. lifestyle center The Village at Fairview. LEED documentation will be submitted to the USGBC for formal approval once the store is complete. Based on its design, the Fairview JCPenney store is expected to use 41 percent less energy than the average similar building. Beyond JCPenney's standard new store design features, such as a reflective white roof and energy-efficient lighting, additional features are expected to contribute to reducing the store's environmental impact. Additional sustainable features will include landscape materials that reduce irrigation needs by 50 percent; plumbing fixtures that reduce building water consumption by 20 percent; segmenting and recycling of construction waste; use of recycled content in store construction, such as cotton batt insulation made from recycled denim; use of regional materials harvested, manufactured and delivered from within 500 miles of the store site to reduce transportation emissions; an HVAC system that is 21 percent more energy efficient than those for comparable new buildings; and an Energy Management System that allows remote monitoring and control of HVAC and lighting systems. Additionally, the Fairview store has been certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as "Designed to Earn the Energy Star," making JCPenney the first national retailer to receive this designation for implementation of energy conservation from the store design stage. To be eligible, building construction documents must be 95 percent complete and receive an energy-efficiency rating of 75 or higher on a 100-point scale. The Village at Fairview store received a rating of 84.