CVS/pharmacy’s New York Distribution Center Awarded LEED® Gold Certification

CVS/pharmacy’s 805,290 s.f. warehouse and distribution center in Chemung County, N.Y. has been awarded LEED® Gold certification. Gray provided pre-construction services such as site selection as well as construction management, LEED administration and fundamental commissioning services. GNF Architects and Engineers, P.S.C. provided architecture and engineering. Please see below for details.

CVS/pharmacy’s New York Distribution Center Awarded LEED® Gold Certification 

– New CVS facility is the largest building in NY State to receive LEED Gold certification –

– One of the 10 largest LEED-certified buildings in the U.S. to achieve Gold level –

Woonsocket, RI and Lexington, KY, August 25, 2011: CVS/pharmacy and Gray Construction announced today that the recently opened CVS/pharmacy distribution center in Chemung County, New York has been awarded LEED® Gold certification.  Gray is the design-build firm responsible for the design and construction of CVS/pharmacy’s new facility.

LEED, a trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the nation’s preeminent green building certification program. Projects seeking LEED certification are evaluated for their implementation of practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. Standing for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” LEED promotes sustainable building and development practices through a suite of rating systems that recognize projects that implement strategies for better environmental and health performance. Gold is the second-highest level of LEED certification given by the USGBC.

CVS/pharmacy’s Chemung building is the company’s first LEED-certified distribution center.  The 751,000 sq. ft. facility’s LEED certification is also notable for being the largest industrial building in the state of New York to achieve the Gold level.  In addition, it is one of the ten largest industrial buildings in the U.S. to receive LEED Gold certification.  

Examples of sustainable design elements incorporated into CVS/pharmacy’s new distribution center include:

• Energy-efficient, white PVC insulated roof

• Interior & exterior lighting with daylight sensors and timers

• High-efficiency, low-flow plumbing fixtures

• Rainwater harvest system for irrigation

• Fluorescent fixtures and skylights

• Construction process using local materials, recycled materials and waste recycling

“CVS Caremark is committed to contributing to a healthy environment in all areas of our business and we are very proud that our new distribution center in Chemung was awarded LEED Gold certification,” said Ron Link, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics at CVS/pharmacy. “This achievement reflects the years of dedication and hard work of our colleagues from around the company and our partners at Gray Construction.”

Gray, which has customers throughout the United States, has been designing and building to LEED guidelines for several years.  Currently, about 40 to 50 percent of Gray’s projects have met some level of LEED certification. 

“CVS Caremark embraces a long-term commitment to sustainable design and construction, which is reflected by the LEED Gold certification of their new facility,” said Stephen Gray, President and CEO Gray Construction. “We applaud their vision and are proud to have been a part of their team.”

The Chemung distribution center, which opened in June 2011, will support the inventory and fulfillment needs of approximately 350 CVS/pharmacy stores in the northeast.  Representing an investment of approximately $90 million, the facility will employ about 300 people by the end of this year and a total of 600 people when it reaches full capacity. 

About CVS/pharmacy

CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), is America’s leading retail pharmacy with more than 7,200 CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drug stores. CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at http://info.cvscaremark.com.

About Gray Construction

Gray has completed over 62 million square feet of distribution space across the U.S. and is ranked 7th for distribution construction in the U.S. Gray is a nationally ranked engineering and construction firm headquartered in Lexington, KY with offices in Alabama, California, Kentucky and Tokyo, Japan. Gray provides customers with programming, planning, site selection, engineering, design, construction and equipment installation services. Beyond distribution, Gray works for customers in the automotive, food and beverage, chemicals, energy, and manufacturing markets. For more information, please visit www.gray.com.

If you have distribution center construction needs, please contact Steve Summers, Executive Vice President, Distribution Market at ssummers@gray.com. If you would like more information regarding LEED construction, please contact Bob Lowry, Senior Vice President at blowry@gray.com.