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Green Dealership Caters to Customers With Café, Salon
Oct 20 2009 by Sherrice Gilsbach
I hate taking my car to the dealership for scheduled maintenance or service. The waiting along with the odors of oil and stale coffee make it a dreaded chore. However, my recent trip to the LaFontaine dealership in Highland, Mich., proved that going to the dealership isn’t something to dread.
This new facility is one of the only “LEED gold-certified” green auto dealerships in the U.S. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification was established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Dealership owners Michael and Maureen LaFontaine have been selling cars since 1980, and they decided to go green with their latest dealership. Boy, did they ever! From its recycled and reclaimed building materials to the natural lighting techniques to the reusable cups made of corn-based products in the café, the effort that went into designing this green dealership is mind-boggling.
On the roof, a storm-water retention system stores rain water for future irrigation use. Other water, including that used to wash cars, is also recycled, which results in an 85 percent reduction in wastewater. In the body shop, eco-friendly paints are used, and the entire facility only uses green, nontoxic cleaning materials.
The green-ness even extends to employees who receive premium parking spaces if they car pool or drive low-emissions or alternative-fuel vehicles.
This dealership was also built with an eye on the customer. Snug within the 68,000-square-foot facility, I found an upscale coffee shop, a kid zone with toys galore and an Xbox 360, a trendy hair salon and a gift shop. I didn’t want to leave. I considered scheduling a hair and nail appointment just because the kid zone provided a safe space to keep my kids entertained within view of the salon! I even caught myself daydreaming about a kid-free day in the future when I might stop in for some coffee and settle into one of the plush leather seats in their lounge area to get some work done via the free Wi-Fi.
Not only is this dealership an environmentalist’s dream, it’s also this mom’s dream as it combined earth-friendly ideology with convenience and personal pampering opportunities.
For more details on the LaFontaine dealership in Highland, Mich., you can visit www.thefamilydeal.com.
