STORE SPACES

Austin -- H-E-B, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Denny’s are among the companies that will host some 103 electric vehicle charging stations in Austin, Texas., allowing customers to plug in while they shop. The stations are part of Utility Austin Energy’s Plug-In EVerywhere network.

The charging stations are available for use by everyone with an electric vehicle. Austin Energy offers a $25 six-month subscription swipe card for unlimited charging at any network location. Otherwise, a credit card can be used for $2 per hour of charging.

El Segundo, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has added 25 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to its distribution fleet as part of a partnership with Ryder System. The new vehicles produce 20% to 30% less emissions than comparable diesel vehicles and are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce emissions.

New York City -- A Thursday report by Crain’s New York Business said that Lord & Taylor has signed a two-year contract with Green Mountain Energy Co. to provide the department store retailer with 100% of its electricity needs at two stores, including the Fifth Ave. flagship location.

The move has garnered the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency, which places Lord & Taylor, effective August, as No. 17 on the its Green Power Partnership list of Top 20 retailers embracing clean energy.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Grocery retailer Meijer announced it will open a 14th Chicago-area store, this one under its Meijer Marketplace banner designed to bring a smaller-size localized concept to the Melrose Park neighborhood.

Meijer Marketplace spans 96,000 sq. ft. – about half the size of the grocer’s supercenters – and features a tailored offering as well as a variety of general merchandise items.

Seattle -- AccessVia announced Tuesday that Casual Male DXL is printing color shelf-edge product signs using AccessVia Web dSignShop.

Signs are printed in the store on an as-needed basis, allowing the retailer to produce full-color sign designs immediately on-site.

New York City -- Marks & Spencer’s new Simply Food in Sheffield, England, is its greenest store to date, incorporating an array of sustainable design and construction features. The 12,430-sq.-ft. supermarket also has the distinction of being the first store in the United Kingdom to be 100% lit with LED technology (from Philips).

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens said Thursday it plans to offer electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at approximately 800 locations across the country by the end of 2011, which would make the drugstore chain the country’s largest retail host.

The charging stations will feature either a high-speed direct current charger that can add 30 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes of charging time, or a Level 2 charger that can add up to 25 miles of range per hour of charge.

Chicago -- Englewood Construction, announced it has completed construction on five retail projects in the Chicago and Washington, D.C., regions.

In the Chicago area, the firm finished construction of a 21,654-sq.-ft. Hhgregg store in Joliet, a 33,115–sq.–ft. Sears outlet in Naperville and a Mrs. Fields/TCBY Yogurt at Westfield Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie.