Walmart's New Store Delivers Portland's Largest Green Roof

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August 30, 2012

Walmart’s new 90,000-square-foot store in Portand’s Hayden Meadows will include a 40,600-square-foot Ecoroof, the largest private green roof in Portland and Walmart’s second green roof initiative in the country.

The store recently broke ground and is expected to be open in the fall of 2013. The approved plan meets the City of Portland’s Ecoroof requirements with a layer of waterproof synthetic membrane root barrier topped with a growing medium, followed by a layer of vegetation, according to the Earth Techling web site. Walmart built its first green roof in Chicago four years ago.

“The Hayden Meadows Ecoroof gives us an opportunity to test Ecoroof performance in a more moderate climate,” said Kimberly Sentovich, senior vice president, pacific division, Walmart.

The roof will be built in three sections, each measuring approximately 13,000 square foot, and each section will use different soil levels so the city can determine which yields the least storm water runoff, according to a report in Daily Journal of Commerce

The ultimate decision will affect ultimate construction costs because the thicker soil levels are heavier and require more support structure.

The Audubon Society of Portland and the Urban Greenspaces Institute, were involved in the roof design process, and are enthusiastic about the data such a large project will yield.

In 2008, Portland launched an Ecoroof Incentive program that offers up to $5 per square foot of a green roof project. So far, the city has supported 330 green roofs, with 100,000 square feet developed in 2011.

Other environmentally friendly store features will include skylight and daylight monitoring, floors made with recycled fly ash; an HVAC system that recycles heat produced by the building’s freezer units; LED lighting in parking areas; recycled construction materials (such as steel and plastics); and a white membrane covering the remaining, un-vegetated portion of its roof.

Walmart’s Ecoroof will also create habitat for birds and insects, and absorb carbon dioxide, and will help reduce the store’s heating and cooling costs.

Rendering courtesy of Walmart

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