Hello everyone,

We are about to register a new project and we kindly ask for your valuable guidance regarding the following topic:

Building Description:

The whole (existing) building has eleven floors (11) above ground (ground floor, mezzanine, 1st-9th floor) and one (1) underground basement. A total exterior and interior renovation shall be carried out.

More specifically, the floors 1st-9th (>60% of building ground floor) shall be fully renovated (interior fit-out, shell and electrical/mechanical/plumping/HVAC components) and shall house offices. The underground basement shall include auxiliary spaces for the above floors (storage rooms, rack room and other auxiliary spaces). 

The ground floor and the mezzanine shall be leased as retail stores and their storage room, respectively.

Occupancy:

The underground space (ancilliary spaces) & the floors 1st-9th (offices) shall be occupied by one sole tenant. The ground floor and the mezzanine (retail stores) shall be occupied by a number of different tenants.

Construction works:

Ground floor and mezannine works involve only circumstantial interior fit-out up to the point of floor renovation perhaps. All other envelope, interior and HVAC components are out of scope and will be addressed by the future tenants.  

Furthermore, the HVAC, electric and water networks are clearly separated from the rest of the building. (these two floors involve less than 15% of the gross floor area).

The floors 1st-9th (>60% of building ground floor) shall be fully renovated (interior & exterior).

Questions:

We are concerned about the rating system that applies best for our case. We assume that the rating system ‘BD&C – New Construction and Major Renovation’ is the most appropriate choice, since the floors 1st-9th (>60%) are under complete internal and external rennovation. Could you confirm our assumption or alternatively propose another option? 

For retail spaces (ground floor & mezannine), can we exclude them from specific credits such as 'Indoor water Use' (because the future tenants shall decide the fixtures) or even from the total certification?

Thank you in advance!

Maria