LaFontaine Opening Second LEED-Designed Auto Dealership

DEXTER -- The LaFontaine family has opened another auto dealership that aspires to LEED environmental certification.

And as a result of that effort, LaFontaine Chevrolet in Dexter is also one heck of a pleasant place to work, shop for a car or get a car serviced.

The 33,485-square-foot building, under construction for nearly a year, has literally dozens of environmental touches.

Those lights in the ceiling in the showroom? Some of them aren't lights. They're solar-powered, GPS-based skylights called Ciralights that track the sun to let in the maximum sunlight.

Fifteen more skylights grace the kitchen-clean service garage, and there are more skylights in individual offices. Even on a mostly cloudy day, that made the building's interior so bright that my camera's automatic flash stayed off for every picture except one.

And light won't go where it isn't needed at night, either. The dealership will use highly directional lighting fixtures that minimize light pollution to surrounding properties, and those lights will dim to a security-only level after 11 p.m., preserving dark skies.

When the dealership's car wash opens, it will recycle and reuse 80 percent of its water supply. Irrigation water for the building's landscaping will come exclusively from a rainwater retention pond -- no municipal water will be used. Overall, according to Joshua Bloom, LEED AP at Redford-based Bloom General Contracting Inc., the building will use about 172,000 gallons of water a year, vs. 666,000 gallons for a building of the same size and use built without the water efficient fixtures and car wash.

Among the other highlights:

* Bricks used in the project had at least 40 percent recycled content.
* Materials with low volatile organic compounds were used wherever possible.
* "Regional materials" were emphasized, with materials used in construction sourced from within 500 miles of the site.
* All wood used in the project was certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council's Principles and Criteria for wood building components.
* A reflective white roof  with a Solar Reflective Index of higher than 78 will minimize air conditioning requirements in summer.
* An energy management system will turn off lights based on daylighting levels, and can manage the building's lights remotely with an iPad.

All told, the building will use about 30 percent less energy than a conventionally constructed dealership, Bloom said.

LaFontaine Chevrolet is the 18th franchise for the automotive family. It purchased the dealership in 2005. The new dealership is located on a former gas station site adjacent to the original, which is being demolished. All construction should be complete at the new dealership, at Dexter-Ann Arbor Road and Ryan Drive, by August.

It's the second new dealership the LaFontaines have built to LEED standards. The first, LaFontaine Buick-GMC-Cadillac in Highland Township, was the nation's first Gold LEED auto dealership. This one aspires to LEED Silver initially, said Matt LaFontaine, general manager of the automotive group.

"The plan here is to be the nation's first Silver LEED Chevy store, and then we'll evaluate what it will take to get to Gold," LaFontaine said.