Green with energy: Salvation Army opens new Auburn store today

Their motto is “doing the most good.”

Now, one of the Salvation Army’s stores is doing that good in a unique shade of green.

Today, the Salvation Army officially opens the doors of its new Family Store.

The Salvation Army will still have the bargains shoppers are looking for, but, perhaps, the most important green the store takes in won’t be found in their cash registers.

The new store at 1038 Opelika Road was designed by the Design-Build Master’s students from Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction and area architect Randy Wilson, all of whom made a conscious effort to incorporate several “green” features into the new store’s construction.

The store is the product of a concept that began in 2006 and was under construction in 2007, about the same time students from AU’s Design-Build Master’s Program and College of Architecture, Design and Construction were working on a home and studio for Mozell Benson, a lifelong area quilter.

Materials that comprise the steel used in the construction of the store came from recycled cargo shipping containers, according to D.K. Ruth, director of the Design-Build masters Program at Auburn University.

“All of the wood used in the construction of the store is reconstituted product donated by Georgia Pacific,” Ruth added.

But those aren’t the only environmentally-friendly features to the store.

‘The sales floor of the store incorporates 10 skylights that help conserve energy by reflecting light off of a number of translucent panels that allow light in but not to escape resulting in less energy consumption,” said Anthony Tindill, a former Design-Build student now working as faculty member at AU.

And the green concepts don’t stop at the front door of the Auburn Salvation Army Family Store.

They literally extend to the parking lot of the store where pervious paving allows water to filter through it entering the water table in a clean form.

The store is also framed by a landscape garden, which was part of its design.

A lot of planning has gone into what the new Salvation Army Family Store looks like on the outside, but the true mission behind the work they do will remain the same, according to Matthew Calder, director of the Lee County Salvation Army Service Center.

Ruth and Tindill agree.

“We used reconstituted materials in the construction of this structure, and the Salvation Army, in many ways, helps people reconstitute their lives,” Ruth said.

Tindill sees the new store as a teaching tool, not just for the students involved in the design project but for the larger community as well.

“This gives the community an opportunity to see what a green building looks like and that this is something that actually works,” Tindill said.

The Auburn Salvation Army Family Store is currently accepting donations and need furniture and appliance items in particular. To schedule a pick up, call 334-745-6459.

If You Go
What: Salvation Army Family Store of Auburn Grand Opening

When: May 22, 10:30 a.m.

Where: The Salvation Army Family Store

1038 Opelika Road, Auburn, Ala.