Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
It’s almost time for Terre Haute’s new Best Buy to open its doors at Towne South Plaza. And when it does, the lights inside may not be on.
That’s because the new electronics retail store, which opens Friday morning at 10 a.m., has 29 large skylights to provide natural, “green,” light for shoppers inside. In fact, the entire 35,000-square-foot store is designed to be environmentally friendly.
“When the customers come in, this is what they are going to get,” said Mike Piotrowski, general manager of the new store, speaking of the natural sunlight filling the large retail space. If the natural lighting gets too low, at night or due to clouds, energy-efficient, low-mercury lights automatically turn on, he said.
In addition to the skylights, the carpet in the Best Buy is another environment-friendly element, made from all recycled materials. The roof is all white to keep the building cooler in the summer.
The employee break rooms have sensors to keep the lights off when no one is inside, and there is a recycling center near the entrance where customers can drop off old ink cartridges, CD packages and other recyclable materials.
Best Buy is one of several large retailers taking a greener approach to business in recent years. For example, many retailers, such as Target, Home Depot and Walmart, offer recycling and other services designed to appeal to green-oriented customers.
This makes good business sense. In a recent survey conducted by retail consultant Miller Zell, 62 percent of shoppers said green factors matter when they make unplanned purchases.
The U.S. Green Building Council, a not-for-profit environmental organization, provides a rating service — known as LEED certification — for residential and commercial buildings. In 2007, Minnesota-based Best Buy decided to make all of its new locations qualify for LEED certification. The Terre Haute Best Buy is shooting for a “silver” LEED certification. Other LEED certification levels are gold and platinum.
The Terre Haute Best Buy has not yet been awarded its silver certification, Piotrowski noted, but that clearly is the goal of the new store, which already employs about 75 full- and part-time employees.
Terre Haute-based Thompson Thrift was the general contractor on the Best Buy project.
The project involved renovating the former Goody’s store at Towne South Plaza. As part of the LEED certification process, Thompson Thrift had to find alternative uses for most of the unwanted materials from the former store.
“We had to recycle, reuse or donate 75 percent of all the demolished materials inside and outside of that space,” said Scott Kleinknight, project manager for Thompson Thrift. “We ended up being just under 90 percent.”
For example, all of the carpet from the Goody’s store was donated to Habitat for Humanity, Kleinknight said. All ceiling tiles were either donated or ground up to make new tiles, and all the concrete, stone and masonry was recycled. Even plumbing fixtures were recycled, he said.
“Best Buy really donated to a lot of nonprofit organizations here in town with materials they are no longer using,” Kleinknight said. “Thompson Thrift is always pleased to build nice, quality projects, and if we can combine that with being green and environmentally friendly, that’s always a huge plus.”
Best Buy is not the first commercial project to seek LEED certification in the Towne South Plaza area. One year ago, Citizens National Bank opened a new branch on Davis Avenue near U.S. 41 seeking a gold LEED certification.
The Best Buy project was the third LEED project for Thompson Thrift but the contractor’s first in Terre Haute, Kleinknight said. A fourth LEED project is currently in the works, he added.
In addition to energy savings, companies using LEED-certified buildings can take advantage of tax and other incentives. According to the Green Building Council, LEED initiatives, including legislation, executive orders, resolutions and ordinances, can be found in 45 states and more than 200 localities.
“The [energy] savings are going to be great” long into the future, Best Buy’s Piotrowski said of the cost savings from the skylights and other green initiatives at the Terre Haute store. The Green Building Council estimated in 2007 that if all Best Buys were LEED-certified, the retailer would cut its energy use by about one-third.
“We want to be a leader in the industry,” Piotrowski said. “If we can do it, everybody can do a part to help out.”
The Terre Haute Best Buy will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Friday followed by the store opening at 10 a.m. Regular store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
