Hy-Vee Opens First LEED-Certified C-store

WEST LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Hy-Vee Inc. opens its first environmentally friendly, gold-level LEED certified convenience store today, according to an LJWorld.com report. Located at the corner of Clinton Parkway and Crossgate Drive, the store is the first convenience store in Lawrence, Kan., and in the Hy-Vee chain itself to receive gold-level LEED status.

"The company has been looking for a place to test this type of format, and we thought Lawrence was the perfect fit," said Andrew Yochum, store director for the Hy-Vee grocery store located at 3504 Clinton Parkway, which will oversee the new c-store.

Extra features the company added to the store to achieve certification include:

• Solar panels atop the gas station canopy.
• Rooftop rain collection system.
• Concrete floors that can be cleaned without wax or other chemicals.
• LED lighting and skylights.
• Landscaping beds planted with native plants which require little watering.
• Buffalo grass lawn that doesn't require an irrigation system.

Hy-Vee officials are optimistic that the store will save significantly on utility bills, said Yochum. "On a sunny day, the skylights pretty much will light the store," he said. "Any retail store that has the amount of refrigeration or electronics that we use requires a lot of energy. I'm real interested in seeing what we can do about that."

The site has 16 fueling stations and a 3,200-square-foot c-store that Yochum stated will have the feel of a Hy-Vee grocery store because it will be managed as a department of the Clinton Parkway location.

"We think the amount of fresh food in the store will surprise people," Yochum told the news outlet.

Customers can bring their Hy-Vee grocery store receipts to the c-store location, which will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. but have 24-hour fueling, to receive fuel discounts.