Increase in FTE during performance period

Matthew Perna

Architect

CMA

LEEDuser Basic Member

22 thumbs up

April 25, 2011

The top floor of our 4 story building was fit out and rented toward the end of our performance period (it was shell space prior to this). Some credits that required surveys, such as SSc4 and IEQc2.1, were completed before the tenants moved into the building. The FTE that we've been using is based on 3 floors of occupancy, not 4 floors. Is the original FTE still legitimate even though the increased occupancy will affect energy and water usage credits?

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Dan Ackerstein

Principal

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC

LEEDuser Expert

545 thumbs up

Wed, 05/11/2011 - 16:33

I can't speak to this with 100% confidence, but the answer should be yes. Occupancy in buildings is constantly in flux and projects can't be expected to wait until the last day of the performance period to survey occupants. And even if they did, if a major tenant had left the day before, that survey would be less accurate than one conducted earlier. Ultimately you have to pick a day for your survey and get it done - just explain in your submittal why your occupancy figures differ in various areas of the submittal. I suspect you'll get some friction in your preliminary review, but ultimately your situation reflects a reasonable accommodation. Hope that helps.