Demolition begins on South Lake Tahoe McDonald's

Demolition began Wednesday on the 40-year-old McDonald's building at the Y, making way for a new building that will not only be home to a smaller and more efficient fast food restaurant, but one that is also full of environmental improvements as well as an new alpine-look consistent with the new City design standards.

In November, 2016, the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission approved the project, citing at the time it would be a scenic improvement and would connect the Tahoe Valley Area Plan Greenbelt into their plans.

Nick Exline, Senior Planner with Midkiff and Associates, Inc. gave a breakdown of the environmental improvements the new 4,305 square foot restaurant will feature. They provided handled the planning and permitting process for the project.

Conservation/Sustainability

Reduction of Energy Consumption
• LED Exterior Building Lighting reduces energy by 70%
• LED Signage reduces energy by 69%
• LED Dining Room Lighting reduces energy by 76%
• LED Menu Boards reduces energy by 50%
• McDonalds Proprietary Backshelf Exhaust Hood reduces energy by 35-53%
• Greenheck VariGreen Exhaust Fan reduces energy by 42-52%
• High Efficiency HVAC Units
• High Efficiency Gas Water Heater

Water Conservation
• Low Flow Pre-Rinse Spray reduces water usage by 60%
• Low Flow Toilets reduces water usage by 20% & Urinals by 50%
• Low Flow Faucets reduces water usage by 55%

Other Sustainable Practices
• Use of Environmentally friendly cleaning products
• Formaldehyde-free building products contribute to better indoor air quality
• Refrigeration equipment uses non-ozone depleting, chlorine-free refrigerants to protect the atmosphere

The children's PlayPlace will not be replaced, allowing room for the two lanes of drive-thru. The lanes will be reconfigured to handle McDonald’s customer’s demands, particularly during busy times of service. Upon entering the drive-thru, the single drive lane will transform to two drive lanes and two ordering queues. After the two ordering stations, the drive-thru lane will merge to a single drive lane. There will be three drive-thru windows, the first window is the cashier and the second window is for order pick-up. The third order pick-up window would be utilized during high peak times. It would allow customers waiting for order pick-up to proceed forward, while completed customer transactions could by-pass the waiting customer. The new drive-thru configuration with the added second ordering station and third pick-up window will significantly increase efficiency, reduce vehicle idling and emissions during high peak times.

The builders said they need 120 days to get the new McDonald's in place, making September 14 as the completion date. They were last at the property to add the PlayPlace two decades ago.

Many of the employees who worked at the Y store were able to move over to the Ski Run area McDonald's on Highway 50.