Our client has taken ownership of a property that was LEED certified many years ago under an older version of LEED, maybe NCv2.1. They would like to build a new LEED certified structure on some of the green space that was located within the original project boundary. I haven't seen all of the original project documentation (and may not be able to get it since it is a different owner), but my assumptions are that the green space was used to achieve both the Open Space and Stormwater Quantity reduction credits.
So, my questions are:
1. What is the impact to the original project's LEED certification, if any?
2. Can the new project meet the MPR requirements and achieve LEED certification if the new project boundary would be entirely within the original project boundary?
3. Does the new project need to (or should it) replace the green space that is being removed for the new project?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11474 thumbs up
April 17, 2020 - 8:46 am
LEED v2.1 predates the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) that currently govern a lot of this stuff. It is also well before the evolution of LEED to being about current performance and not a snapshot in time with predicted performance.
So my gut is that you can do what you want with the new project boundary and no one will come asking about the v2.1 plaque hanging on the wall in the certified structure. I would recommend checking this out with GBCI if you want an official word, of course.
The best course of action, though, relative to LEED would be to enroll the v2.1 project in Arc and update it with actual performance and recertification, while carving out the new project boundary. As I think it through, this actually reinforces my initial response, because LEED recertification via Arc doesn't address the site credits you are concerned about.
Seema Pandya
Sustainability ConsultantSLP
150 thumbs up
September 15, 2020 - 10:44 am
I found more guidance in an older version of the MPR about how to certify a new LEED building within an existing LEED boundary from an older version. Looks like this was taken out in the newer MRP version, perhaps because it is uncommon, but I also am running into this same issue on a project. https://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/Docs9552.pdf See pages 13-19. I'm planning on using this as backup for my documentation and am still going to contact the USGBC to get more clarification.