I have a project that has 30 stories of above-grade office/retail/parking structure and 3 levels of below-grade parking. Part of the the below-grade parking sits under our building while part extends entirely underneath an adjoining building lot where a separate independent hotel structure (not part of this LEED project) will be built in the above-grade air rights. Construction of the two buildings are intended to be staged so that they are completed at approximately the same time, though they are two separate projects. The questions are twofold:
1) Should the site area for our building in the initial development density calculation include the land area of the adjoining lot above the below-grade parking structure? While the below-grade parking space systems will be factored in to the various applicable WE/EA/MR/IAQ credits (as we would normally do), the SF is not included in the building gross square footage by definition, and the land it sits under is the actual site footprint for the separate adjoining building. It would seem that if we count this as part of our site area, there would be no site area left to calculate the density of the adjoining building without double-counting the land area. This problem would also pop up in other credits that use the site area of the LEED project boundary (such as SSc5.1/5.2 and others dealing with open space, SWM and landscape) where calculations would be inaccurately skewed if that land underneath the adjoining building is counted within the project site area. Any experience with/advice on how to handle the LEED project boundary and project density site area for such a situation where part of the intended certified structure is underneath another building footprint?
2) Since the adjoining hotel building will be completed at approximately the same time as our LEED project building, can it be included in the development density calculations for Option 1? It would seem that if Option 2 allows anticipated services to count, than Option 1 should also allow anticipated density to count, as long as some sort of documentation is provided to demonstrate that the adjoining building is actually being built to the density indicated. Although independently developed, the two buildings are part of a single phase of a redevelopment master plan jointly approved by the local planning authorities.