Best part will be when they close down and sell to someone who sets up an organic restaurant in the structure. :)

They could have added a solar panel or two if they really wanted to make a statement.

I live in Savannah, and I can tell you it has been a buzz in the Architectural community here for some months. All the real greenies live in the historic part of town where there are no McDonalds and everyone(sorta) rides bikes. We have more interesting green buildings too; The part of town containing the LEED McDonalds is an endless sea of pavement. At least there is an island of sanity now.

Making a statement (via solar panels) would be great...however if it is not repeatable at multiple locations it is meaningless. It just appears as green washing then.

Thats all well and good, but what about all the waste from the chains actual operations....oh...and let's not forget the horrible food.

A nicer environment to kill people in. Poison is poison even if you wrap it in gold foil.

It's a start. How many years now since all the styrofoam packaging? Slow, but it's another step in the right direction as a mega-company. We have to be thankful they are at least making an effort while poisoning us :)

I admittedly chuckled to myself when I read the "poison in gold foil" and "nicer environment to kill people in" comments, but come on. All too often on TH I read responses from readers with good intentions, but you can't expect change by criticizing steps forward. The way I see it is that McDonald's will keep building restaurants, and the vast majority of consumers will keep eating there and demanding more locations. If they're going to build anyway, good for McDonald's for taking the initiative. To anybody who was more than teasing when they tacked up some negativity after this article: it's a step in the right direction, and if you really wanted things to get better, you'd give them a pat on the back for doing anything at all instead of quickly judging that a compromise or less-than-perfect effort is just as bad as doing nothing.

I have to disagree, drewzen. I think the posters' point is that it is not about the building, it is about the corporate culture of McDonald's Corp.

From "The store is located in the LEED-certified Abercorn Common retail development," I gather that McDonald's had no choice but to build in this fashion in order to get their wares and their brand into this development. To TH skeptics who know how devastating the fast food industry is (primarily in meat production, packaging waste, and human health effects), it does not demonstrate a step toward corporate responsibility, but rather the lengths to which the company will go to ensure that no enclave or niche of human existence is bereft of golden arches. If a shopping plaza consisted of only medieval style stoneworks, there would be a medieval style stonework McDonald's. If a development were built with no roofs on any of the buildings, you'd get an open-air McDonald's. They're just doing what they have to do to keep opening restaurants, and it doesn't hurt to get some green headlines while they're at it.

...or maybe some architectural firm just had one heck of a salesperson making that pitch.

John,

Thanks for picking up my post on LEED certified buildings. The direct path to the post is: http://davidburn.com/blog/2006/04/28/the-greening-of-america-is-on/

Thanks to the work of local builders and architects, Savannah has something of a green building movement afoot. That a company like McDonald's would buy in is a HUGE step in the right direction, IMO.

Lets look to the positive shall we? LEED construction is great, and if you have a large corporate entity like McDonalds spearheading this effort, it will do more good than harm. Sure their food is terrible for you, but no one forces you to buy it.

I am not a LEED expert, but the premise seems sound to me. We are in the first stages of alternative energy/energy-efficiency use in the US. Any first step is a good one. The LEED projects I have seen outlined all over the net seem to have real tangible value.

I wrote a post today on the power of small towns in empowering builders/homeowners to get on the boat for LEED construction. These are interesting times for sure. As the LEED initiative progresses, it will surely be revisited and improved. The fact that we have a govt. sponsored initiative is a big plus in my books. This will definitely spur investment on the manufacturing side to keep up with increased demand. This is great as it seems most of these products are made in the USA.

I comment regularly on the business/investor side of alternative energy on Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily

Cheers,
Francesco DeParis

Stephanie Stafford

Quiz 3

I think that McDonalds is going to be McDonalds no matter what kind different

construction is done to it. If remodeling the Mickey D’s is going to save the company

money and is better for the environment, then I’ m all for it. I don’t think that it’s

going to change the way the customers are going look at it in a different way because

they still serve the same kind of food there.

People arte going to want to come in to see what the new restaurant is though. It

will bring in new customers who have inquiring minds. I think that is a big step for

them to bring in more business. The money was well spent.

I think the company is making big improvement by standing out from all the other

fast stop restaurants in the city. By doing maybe other store would consider this type

setting also. It would do world a favor. It set out a role as a role model for the

others in the same business.

It still is a fast food restaurant. I guess they are trying change the way people look at

that one restaurant. Now if they really want make a statement, do them all that way

and come down on some of them sandwich prices. They will. get a lot more business.

I tell you one thing, I’m going to take visit there to check it out just because they

rebuilt it. Then I’’ really get a good feel about what I think about it.

WOW! Let's give them some credit. Despite all the snipeing and catterwalling. The did something that no one else has. They deserve a big hand as someone has to be first.