STORE SPACES

Centennial, Col. -- Ikea on Tuesday officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its upcoming location in Centennial, Col. (the 415,000-sq.-ft. store is due to open on July 27).

The 60,000-sq.-ft. array consists of a 498-kW system, built with 2,212 panels. It will produce approximately 740,000 kWh of electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing at least 564 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 100 cars or powering 62 homes yearly.

New York City -- Safeway’s store in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C, has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The 71,067-sq.ft. store is the grocer’s second LEED-certified store, and the first LEED certified store in DC.

New York City -- Smith’s Food & Drug Stores, a division of Kroger Co., has been recognized by the Utah Association of Energy Users as a leader in conservation and energy-use efficiency, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The chain, which received the “Outstanding Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Conservation” award on Wednesday at the 26th Annual Western States Energy Conference in Salt Lake City, was recognized for retrofitting its 132 stores in seven states with more efficient energy systems.

New York City -- Victoria’s Secret will begins construction on a multi- million dollar renovation of its store in Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in late May.

Construction will take approximately three-months to complete. The newly renovated 7,722-sq.-ft. store will serve as a prototype for Victoria’s Secret, featuring various design elements not found at any of its other Las Vegas locations. 

Tejon, Calif. -- Ikea on Wednesday flipped the switch on a newly constructed solar energy system at its southwestern U.S. distribution center in Tejon, Calif. The 370,000-sq.-ft. solar array consists of a 1.8 MW system designed and installed by California-based REC Solar, and built with 7,980 REC Group panels.

Austin, Texas -- DMX announced it is the new music, systems and messaging partner for Bass Pro Shops.

Bass Pro Shops is using a custom mix of country music that is delivered via the DMX ProFusion technology. DMX is also providing all the sound systems for each location and will enhance the listener experience with more speaker coverage with 46 additional speakers.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Three Rite Aid stores have been awarded Energy Star certification for superior energy performance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA awards the Energy Star certification to buildings that rank in the top 25% of similar buildings nationwide in terms of energy efficiency and meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings said its that Sears Grand in Cape Girardeau, Mo., has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment.

Sears will battle it out against hundreds of other teams representing buildings across the country to work off the waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.