The "Golden Arches" are turning a little more like green, as a Cary McDonald's goes up in a new energy efficient building.

"We are the first one in the state of North Carolina," said Ric Richards, owner/operator of the fast food restaurant at 1299 Kildaire Farm Road. "And we are the third one in the United States."

The new building is replacing a 25-year old McDonalds that stood on the same spot, and the builders managed to recycle or reuse more than 99 percent of the old building.

When everything is up and running, the new one will use 40 percent less electricity than the old one and save 500,000 gallons of water a year.

Some of the energy-efficient highlights include LED lighting, recycled cotton insulation and even a charging station for electric cars.

"We're looking at not only the building materials they're using for these restaurants, but also the processes that are involved in food making, and seeing how we can improve the efficiency of all of those," said Logan Luzader, an Architectural Designer from LMHT.

The goal is to have the new restaurant "LEED Gold Certified" by the Green Building Rating System after it opens in a couple weeks.

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