H-E-B at Mueller

H-E-B at Mueller, an 83,587-square-foot retail store and fresh food market, includes a pharmacy, café, and community meeting space. It is located in the Mueller neighborhood, a mixed-use urban village in Austin, Texas, located just three miles from downtown and two miles from the University of Texas, with excellent access to public transportation, open space, and bike routes. The project site is in the Mueller market district and backs to the south onto a residential portion of the development. Input from the 16 surrounding neighborhoods and the City of Austin informed the project design, which showcases many sustainable design innovations.

Supermarkets and food service use more energy per square foot than any other commercial building sector and are more than twice as energy-intensive as office buildings and schools, primarily due to systems used to ensure safe fresh food. H-E-B’s energy conservation allows them to pass on savings in the form of lower prices to their customers, who come from a broad spectrum of income levels and demographics. They partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute to develop a sustainability plan for all their stores, including new construction and retrofits. H-E-B at Mueller was the resulting pilot project and represents the company’s greenest effort to date.

H-E-B at Mueller slashed its energy use by an estimated 64 percent over the grocery store national median while achieving a more comfortable customer environment. This was accomplished through a whole-system approach, reaping multiple benefits from single design moves.

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