JCPenney breaks ground on future LEED store

PLANO, Texas JCPenney announced that it has broke ground in Fairview, Texas, on its first store registered and expected to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

The 115,000-square-foot JCPenney store will open in August 2009 as an anchor of Fairview’s new 1 million-square-foot lifestyle center, The Village at Fairview.

“JCPenney is committed to pursuing environmental initiatives in ways that make sense for the company,” said Michael Dastugue, senior vp and director of property development. “Because LEED is the recognized benchmark for green building, this store will provide further insights to features and best practices that can help the environment and potentially deliver long-term energy and cost savings. All of our efforts to reduce environmental impact reflect our ‘Every Day Matters’ philosophy and commitment to the communities in which we operate.”

Based on its design, the Fairview JCPenney store is expected to use 41% less energy than the average similar building. 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.