Sprouts Farmer’s Market Goes Green in Culver City

CULVER CITY, CA – Sprouts Farmer’s Market Circuit City Conversion -

Sprouts Farmer’s Market, the Arizona-based grocer and one of the fastest growing retail chains in the nation, recently completed and opened what they described as their “Flagship Sustainable Store” in Culver City, California.  The project has been awarded LEED Silver Certification (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) and will be the model for all new Sprout’s projects going forward.  Sprout’s has 54 stores in four states and is currently in an aggressive expansion program, which began in 2008, to get to 200 stores by 2014.

Sprouts’ new store is a 32,800 square foot building that was converted from a vacant boxCircuit City box.  It was renovated by Sprouts at a cost of $2.1 million of which approximately $300,000 is attributable to the cost of LEED certification.  The building is located within a shopping center that contains an Office Depot, Chase Bank and a Shakey’s Pizza, however the Sprouts building is owned separately.

The project scope included minor exterior and site modifications.  The majority of work revolved around removing and rebuilding the interior of the existing space as well as providing an updated facelift on the front façade of the building.  Most of the existing building structure was left in place in order to maximize reuse of materials and limit construction debris and waste.

Circuit City Debranding

Perhaps the most interesting challenge faced by Sprouts in the repositioning of this property was what to do about the Circuit City “Plug” as a design element at the front entrance of the property.  You know, the famous red-tiled, electrical-plug-shaped tower that was one of Circuit City’s trademarks and is now one of the only remnants of their existence.  Sprout’s explored removing the tower element but cost was an issue.  During the design phase of the project Jerry Stutler, Sprouts’ V.P of Construction and Facility Engineering, was driving through a farming area in Colorado with one of his architects on another project.  They saw a large number of grain silos there.  On their return to Phoenix Jerry worked with their architects at Nadel to develop various concepts including turning the large red tower element into something that looked like a grain silo, an image in keeping with the brand’s connection to farm fresh product.

“The Circuit City ‘Plug’ was the most interesting feature to deal with”, said Rick Redpath, Managing Principal at Nadel Architects.   “Since the plug was a dominant feature on the building and drew people to the entry, we decided to work it.” Not only did the concept work it saved money on the retrofitting of the property.  Redpath continued, “We added corrugated metal to the body of it and a hipped metal roof to help create the silo look.”

The Grocer Goes Green, Naturally

“Sprouts’ mission to provide the best in natural and organic foods ‘naturally’ leads them to being a good steward of the environment around them with their stores”, says Redpath. “Sprouts chose their Culver City store as the target for their first LEED store and they achieved LEED Silver Certification.”  The building uses significantly less energy compared to conventional supermarkets.  Based on criteria set by the United States Green Building Council, energy use for lighting is reduced by 25%, HVAC systems by 18% and refrigeration systems by 14%.  Items that contribute to energy efficiency include the reflective roof, skylights for day-lighting, innovative refrigeration systems and lighting fixtures and controls, LED (Light Emitting Diode) case lighting, equipment monitors, and energy recovery systems.  Night Screens save energy by capturing the cold air inside the refrigerated cases at night.  All of these measures result in less harmful emissions into the environment, less dependence on fossil fuels, and lower operating costs.

On the site, native draught-tolerant landscaping and a weather-smart irrigation meter reduces potable water use.  There is a major public transportation hub across the street providing shoppers access to the market.  Bike racks encourage alternative transportation reducing emissions.  Reserved carpool and hybrid car spaces are adjacent to the ADA parking spaces close to the store entrance.  Outdoor benches encourage people to eat their lunch where they shop and promote community connectivity.  “We also added a large trellis feature adjacent to the silo entry that served a dual purpose of shading the shopping cart storage area as well as providing a nice shaded outdoor seating area for Sprouts customers” added Redpath.

Signs are posted throughout the store’s interior to explain the energy saving measures and practices that support its LEED status.  Signage describes everyday recycling of cardboard, paper, glass, plastics and metals, sustainable wood fixtures responsibly harvested from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), electronic monitoring of refrigeration, lighting, air-conditioning and heating equipment, water-conserving faucets, fixtures and sensors, carbon dioxide sensors and high grade air filters helping improve indoor air quality.  The existing concrete slab was cleaned, polished and stained for use as a beautiful low maintenance floor finish.   “The biggest challenge in building LEED certified buildings,” said Stutler, “is determining what will give you the points necessary to achieve the LEED certification and yet not blow your budget totally out of the water.  We are delighted to have been able to achieve that balance with this project.”

Serving Culver City

Sprout’s chose the location because Culver City, located between Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles, was in real need of a neighborhood grocery store.  Sprouts Farmers Market secured this location at the corner of at Sepulveda & Slauson and filled that need in the community.  “It was a unique combination of factors,” said Stutler. “Huge retail traffic area, good demographics and no market in the trade area like us.”

Culver City, the home of the project, had a veryaggressive Sustainability Plan as well, that included transportation, building, alternative energy, community education, government operations, air quality, water conservation, and preserving natural resources. By attaining LEED Silver Certification for this project, Sprouts Farmers Market also helped Culver City achieve their sustainability goals.

Sprouts’ overall vision for this store was to create a Flagship Sustainable Store and it intends to carry these specifications forward onto all future projects.  While all of their future stores may not be submitted for LEED certification, each store will be designed with the requirements in mind so that they could be LEED certifiable.  “Sprouts has always looked at sustainability in our design and engineering as an important component in project development,” said Stutler.  “With this store we’ve decided to make it part of our mission.”

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Sprouts Farmers Market (sproutsfarmersmarket.com) is one of the fastest growing retailers in the U.S., and was founded in 2002 in Arizona.  Headquartered in Phoenix, Sprouts has 3,900 employees and 54 stores in Arizona, California, Texas and Colorado.  The store’s concept of “Healthy Living For Less” features natural, bulk and organic foods, as well as alternative choices for those with certain food sensitivities, a large selection of vitamins, supplements, natural body care products, and consumer education about health and wellness.

Nadel Architects (www.nadelarc.com) was founded in 1973 and has become widely recognized as a well respected architectural firm and has been consistently ranked amongst the top 50 architectural firms in the United States. Our depth of experience coupled with our passion for innovation and design, enable us to offer cost-effective solutions for a wide-range of project types. Nadel is committed to providing strategic planning and consulting services to help our clients respond to their business needs even during the most challenging economic times.

Nadel’s Retail division is an independent, client-focused design group with more than 35 years of experience in retail and shopping center development. Nadel Retail has worked with major tenants and retail developers, and has completed more than 1500 projects located throughout the Western United States.



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