LDA has worked alongside Coldwater Creek and several other retailers who are leading the green retailing movement.  We have worked hand in hand with Coldwater to incorporate green aspects into their roll out program moving projects into the LEED for Retail-Commercial Interiors rating system.

We kick off 2010 with excellence in green, by achieving LEED certified Silver ratings for 2 Coldwater Creek stores.  The first certified Silver store is located at The Fountains at Roseville, CA and the second store is located at The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, Florida.  These two stores bring the Coldwater Creek and LDA Design team to a total of 9 LEED certified stores.

Coldwater Creek certified stores:

Uptown Gig Harbor Gig Harbor, WA - Gold 

Arboretum at Great Hills Austin, TX - Gold

Clackamas Town Center Happy Valley, OR - Gold 

Village at Stone Oak San Antonio, TX - Silver 

Hill Country Galleria Bee Cave, TX - Silver 

Shops at Norterra Phoenix, AZ - Silver 

San Tan Village Gilbert, AZ - Certified

Leading the LEED program for the Retail Design and Architecture at Coldwater Creek, Erin McKenna quotes:  “As a member of the LEED for Retail Pilot Program, Coldwater Creek has been a frontrunner in uncovering the rewards and challenges of implementing LEED strategies in a retail rollout. Our initial success is due in large part to the diligence and creative thinking of our partners at Linane Drews Architects. We could not have asked for better partners in discovering and developing our green building program.”

– Erin McKenna Architect, LEED AP Coldwater Creek, Inc.

LEED has quickly become the industry standard for rating building sustainability through design, construction and building operation. We recognize our environmental responsibility and the urgency for green building practices.  LDA is a member of USGBC and several of our staff are LEED accredited professionals and can facilitate the design and certification process for producing high performance green buildings.  We have provided LEED services for Coldwater Creek’s retail rollout stores.  Of these stores 2 received a Gold certification and 3 received a Silver certification.

During the economic downturn retailers have been one of the hardest hit by the reduction in consumer spending. Most economists feel that we’ve seen the bottom and recovery is on the way. But as retail development picks up again how will it be different?  The credit system that enabled a constant expansion of retail development no longer exists. New financing methods combined with a movement towards more sustainable approaches means we will begin to see new models and typologies emerge.

According to architectural commentator Ellen Dunham-Jones, existing centers will get a second look. She recently wrote in the Harvard Business Review that, “opportunities will be at retrofitted underperforming suburban shopping areas close to city centers.” As a premiere retail and commercial architecture firm, LDA is beginning to see this trend take shape. 

LDA has been working directly with Architectural Ventures to retrofit the Santa Maria shopping center to perform in a tighter economy. Not only has LDA designed the center but has provided tenant improvement service for the diverse set of local businesses that are occupying the center. Typical sought after brand names retailers are being replaced with small businesses that provide a larger community function. The shops going into Santa Maria are locally owned, creating a shopping center unique to the region. As this trend begins to mature the ubiquitous shopping center will become more outdated. Existing centers will be-retrofitted to act more like traditional town-centers with a mix of uses and functions.