When it rains, water is collected off the roof to be used later for irrigating the grounds. Old apple crates and other reclaimed wood are used as wall coverings. And when sensors detect enough daylight is shining through the ceiling's 48 skylights, the electric lights are dimmed.

At the new Whole Foods in Montrose, even the huge parking lot out front was built with the environment in mind.

The 45,000-square-foot store, which opens Wednesday at the corner of Waugh and West Dallas, will have a number of embellishments meant to save energy and the environment.

The $18 million building was designed by Austin's Stone Soup 6 Architecture in conjunction with Whole Foods and built by Journeyman Construction.

Located at 701 Waugh, the new Whole Foods is just a few miles from the company's store on Kirby. It's also a bit larger than the Kirby store and has 100 more parking spaces.

Spokeswoman Kimberly Crowder said the new location will help serve neighborhoods the Kirby store hasn't been able to capture.

"It's like three minutes from everywhere," Crowder said. "It's kind of the urban heartbeat of Houston."

Whole Foods said the Montrose store is its greenest in this market.

The store's design even changed so it would be easier on the environment, said Michael Shaw, who managed the store's development for Whole Foods.

Too much concrete

The company initially considered building the store above two levels of parking, which would have reduced the size of the lot out front and created a denser development on the 5-acre site. But the grocer decided against it because the amount of concrete required for that type of construction would have created a "huge heat island" Shaw said.

"All that concrete absorbs heat all day and radiates it at night," he said. "It's a huge energy load."

Green space also reduces that heating effect. Trees placed strategically throughout the parking lot will create a better aesthetic while shading the cars, Shaw said.

Native plants

Also, some 65 varieties of plants will be used in the landscaping. The plants must be native, Shaw said, because "Houston is unique."

"Plants need to withstand heat and humidity," he said Thursday morning under the blazing sun.

The store was designed to limit water use, as well. A 1,500-gallon cistern collects rainwater and uses it as a drip irrigation system.

Other green features:

Two electric car charging stations.

A bike station with screwdrivers, wrenches and an air pump for small repairs.

LED lighting throughout the store and parking lot.

Recycled glass used in the floors of the wine section.

A secondary cooling system where water circulates through a rooftop cooling tower to help cool the refrigeration cases.

The building's facade comprises native Texas limestone and recycled composite lumber.

The store has been certified through Green Globes, a system that rates buildings for their green design, operation and management.

Customers' expectations

Responding to customer demands, new supermarkets in general are being designed to operate more efficiently and older ones are being renovated with environmental extras, said Brian Malarkey, who leads the EcoServices group at Houston architecture firm Kirksey.

He points to research that has been done on skylights and their effect on the retail environment.

"They found stores with skylights did better," he said.

nancy.sarnoff@chron.com