Dear All,
we are certifying an office building that includes two incomplete spaces (less than 5% of total building GFA):
- Gymnasium (fit-out will be responsibility of the owner but it will only be finished later);
- Restaurant (fit-out will be responsibility of a future tenant).
Two questions:
- How can the project claim credits related with water efficiency of future showers in the gymnasium ? As the owner will be responsible for the installation of these equipment’s, a tenant-lease agreement does not seems to be adequate. A letter of commitment, signed by the owner, specifying maximum future showers flowrate would be acceptable ? If not, which are the alternatives ?
- How can the project claim credits related with water efficiency of future appliances in the restaurant (dishwater, food steamer and combination oven) ? Please note that these appliances will be installed by a future tenant. Shall we use the same method as for Core & Shell Projects (binding sales and lease agreement, specifying minimum requirements for appliances) or just a non-binding tenant design and construction guidelines with a brief explanation of project circumstances, as referred in the reference guide for projects others than Core & Shell ?
Thanks in advance.
Michael Kelly
Design EngineerMacDonald-Miller
1 thumbs up
October 7, 2019 - 11:48 am
Ricardo,
See below for excerpt from the LEED Reference Guide.
"Core and Shell
Include in the credit documentation all plumbing fixtures necessary to meet the occupants’ needs whether they will
be installed as part of the project’s scope of work or not. For example, include at a minimum all necessary restroom
fixtures (toilets, urinals, and lavatories) to meet the project occupants’ needs, and showers when seeking LT Credit
Bicycle Facilities. Assume that the as-yet-uninstalled (future) fixtures have the baseline water consumption rates.
Kitchen sinks must be included in the credit calculations if installed in the project’s scope of work or if addressed in
a tenant sales or lease agreement. However, if future kitchen sinks are not installed as part of the project’s scope of
work or are not addressed in a tenant sales or lease agreement, they may be excluded from the credit calculations.
A core and shell project can earn credit for the plumbing fixtures installed as part of the project’s scope if all fixtures
necessary to meet occupants’ needs are included in the calculations and if all occupants of the incomplete tenant
spaces are included in the calculations.
A project team may earn credit for the efficiency of not-yet-installed future plumbing fixtures by submitting
a legally binding tenant sales or lease agreement. The agreement, signed by both owner and tenant, must state
the performance requirements for the future fixtures, including the maximum water flush or flow rates and the
WaterSense label (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.) for all newly installed fixtures eligible for
labeling. The project cannot earn credit this way unless the tenant sales or lease agreement is fully executed. "
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
476 thumbs up
October 7, 2019 - 12:30 pm
Michael, the above info is true for CS projects, but there are many NC projects that have a small portion of tenant fitout, often at the ground level.
In my other NC projects like this, we have labeled those areas Not In Contract and not included any info for them in our submissions. If you want to take credit for future fixtures, then I would treat it like a CS project and use a lease agreement. Otherwise, I would just leave them out. That must be consistent through all credits: it's either all in or all out.
In the case of the area that will be done by the owner, only at a later time, I would think that the committal letter signed by the owner stating their fixtures won't exceed xx amount per applicable fixture should suffice. You could always ask LEED Coach to be certain, but we have used a similar approach in the past and it was accepted.