Logan Square store is "green from the ground up" and designed to educate and save resources DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, today will celebrate the grand opening of the first drugstore in Illinois to meet top environmental requirements for efficiency and design. The new store in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, near the intersection of California and Diversey, is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards – a certification granted only by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Walgreens officials and guests will mark the grand opening of this eco-drugstore with a tree planting ceremony at 10 a.m. today, followed by a store tour. The Logan Square Walgreens, nestled in an urban area right off the Kennedy Expressway, features a "green roof" with plants growing on it. The roof also has a white coating to help reduce heating and cooling costs. The store will save nearly 34,000 gallons of water a year with efficient water fixtures. During construction, 85 percent of waste was diverted from landfills. The site was a brownfield which was cleaned up and redeveloped for this project. Coolers, freezers and exterior signs all use LED lights, reducing energy use by 50 percent over fluorescent lighting. The store will save enough electricity to power more than five homes a year. In addition, there is special parking for hybrid vehicles, bike racks and nearby public transportation. "It may look like a regular Walgreens from the outside, but once you take a closer look it really is green from the ground up," said Walgreens district manager Steven DiLullo. "Customers can find informational signs inside that highlight these features so they can feel good about what we're doing and where they shop." "On behalf of the City of Chicago, I congratulate Walgreens for their leadership in building a green store," said chief environmental officer for the city of Chicago Sadhu Johnston. "The environmentally friendly features of this store will contribute to making Chicago a greener city while reducing Walgreens impact on the planet. We encourage all Chicago businesses to consider ways that they can be more environmentally friendly and save electricity."
