Alan Bloom takes Bloom General Contracting to NADA 2008

With the outpouring of interest in Bloom's green building program and knowledge of manufacturer image criteria, Alan Bloom knew this was the year to introduce his company to NADA and boy, was he right!  Our many booth visitors and long conversations with dealers, manufacturers, architects and engineers made for a successful week! 

LEED Professional Accreditation distinguishes building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the LEED certification process. LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and the LEED Rating System.

Earth-friendly dealership a first in state
LaFontaine group invests in green store to lower bills

November 24, 2007
BY SARAH A. WEBSTER

Rather, the oldest of the LaFontaines' two sons had been exploring ways to reduce energy costs on the new Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac store the family planned to build on M-59 in Highland Township. The new $15-million dealership is to replace an existing store nearby that the family has outgrown by increasing sales to nearly 3,000 cars and trucks a year.

(ROB WIDDIS/Special to the Free Press)
Builder Al Bloom, left, and Mike LaFontaine stand in what will be the new LaFontaine Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac dealership in Highland Township. Mike LaFontaine Jr. encouraged his parents to build the state's first green auto dealership to save on the costs needed to run the store.

During a tour of the new dealership, which is expected to be complete next spring, it's clear that a lot can be done.

The new dealership site is to comprise a 63,000-square-foot building on 24 acres of former agricultural land, and it will feature showrooms for the various brands, a large service area, as well as a café and boutique featuring specialty items. And all throughout, green features to save money and resources are built in.

The LaFontaines decided to heat and cool the building with a geothermal system that takes advantage of the earth's ability to store and maintain vast amounts of heat.

More than 60 wells were drilled about 300 feet into the ground behind the property, said Al Bloom, the general contractor on the project and president of Bloom General Contracting. Tubes and coils inside the wells are filled with water and other liquids and help move heat and cold back and forth between the earth and the building to achieve the right temperature.

The unconventional system will cost about half a million dollars more than a traditional heating and cooling system. But Ryan LaFontaine, 30, the family's youngest son and general manager of the new GM dealership, estimates that the special green features of the site will result in a 40%-50% reduction in energy costs.

Mike LaFontaine Jr. added that he expects the system will pay for itself in 7 years of lower costs.

While the innovative heating and cooling feature is the primary green attribute of the site, it's not the only one.

More than 80 skylights in the roof will provide natural light, reducing the need for electric lights. A pond was also created at the site to capture water runoff from the building and parking lot to recycle for irrigation.

As the family designed and built its dealership, the LaFontaines also started learning about other ways to go green in their business. "We started realizing how easy it was to do," Ryan LaFontaine said.

For example, the family's dealerships will now use vegetable oil as a lubricant in their service-area vehicle lifts instead of less Earth-friendly petroleum-based oils.

Bloom said he expects the new dealership to qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification under the Green Building Rating System, which is the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Mike LaFontaine, who has been selling cars and trucks around metro Detroit since 1966, estimated that going green has resulted in about $1.5 million in excess costs up front, or about 10% of the total project. But he believes it will be worth it in the end.

"There are so many other motivating factors" for going green, Mike LaFontaine said.

The company plans to market the dealership's green attributes directly to customers, who are more concerned than ever about global warming, and it also will adopt some of what it learned at other sites. Ultimately, though, LaFontaine said one of the biggest reasons for going green is that it's he right thing to do.

Contact SARAH A. WEBSTER at 313-222-5394 or swebster@freepress.com. 

General Motors invites Bloom General Contracting to assist them in showcasing the new LaFontaine 'green' dealership at the 2007 Greenbuild Conference in Chicago!