Chris Dilley, general manager for the People’s Food Co-Op, said the organization worked hard to balance sustainability while controlling costs for the new store. PHOTO: NATHAN PECK.

By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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KALAMAZOO — Doing right by the community, environment and economy comes somewhat naturally to Chris Dilley.

As general manager of the People’s Food Co-Op, a cooperative market with a 38-year history in Kalamazoo, sustainability was always going to be at the center of the plans for a larger store. After a 2006 renovation to the co-op’s building on Burdick Street, board members realized that more space would be needed. Dilley and the board spent more than 20 months searching for the right location.

“The idea had always been to find an existing space and renovate,” Dilley told MiBiz. The search turned up no suitable sites that were close to downtown, had good parking, or the space that they needed. Property became available in a neighborhood the city has recently branded “Rivers Edge,” and the co-op saw that new construction might get them what they had been searching for.

“The site had been our Number 2 choice all along,” Dilley said. “This also gave us the ability to be owners rather than leasing, and be investing in ourselves.”

The decision to build also meant that the co-op could incorporate more sustainable features into the building, but translating those passions into a new facility was a tougher endeavor than the organization had anticipated. Dilley and board members of the co-op initially considered building to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards, but realized that cost constraints would likely make LEED not feasible.

“If we had unlimited resources, we would have done more,” Dilley said. “We knew that going LEED would have cost us $20,000-$30,000 on the low end. I respect the (LEED) label, but we decided to put that money back into constructing as green of a building as possible.”

Jack Abate, project manager with the Miller-Davis Company, said that the firm has developed a green construction program to help guide clients through the myriad decisions around sustainability.

“As we sit down with most clients these days, they are interested in sustainable features and energy savings. The budget is the first thing (discussed), but sustainability follows quickly,” Abate told MiBiz. “They had some particular goals they wanted included, such as a restaurant area and commercial kitchen, and they had a desire to have sustainability and green features incorporated into the design. We worked on what the budget could support, what it couldn’t support, and worked backward through the process. We got to the place where we could get the right combination of programs to fit in their budget.”

Finding efficiencies

While LEED was out, maximizing green features was in. The compressors for the 14 refrigerated coolers were consolidated in racks at the back of the building and should yield 30 percent energy savings over traditional units. Waste heat from the units is in turn used to heat water for use in the building, eliminating the need for a natural gas-fired water heater.

Elsewhere, SolarTubes collect daylight from the roof and reduce the need for fluorescent light. Design decisions were made with future upgrades in mind — there wasn’t a cost-effective way to include LED lighting, but Dilley sees it as a future possibility.

Outside, the building’s landscaping is comprised of native plants, ensuring that they will thrive and help mitigate onsite rain runoff.

Results

Two weeks after opening the new building, Dilley sees the positives in the increased space. Having doubled the space for fresh fruits and vegetables, area farmers are scrambling to meet the increased demand generated in the new store, and it is helping the co-op reach its goal of promoting access to food, respect for the land and economy.

“We’re able to lower prices and increase access to food, which helps us support more programs,” Dilley said.