CS eligibility for industrial condos

Nancy, this sounds like a CS project to me. Do you have any concern about it not being eligible for LEED-CS?

No problem, Nancy. You can even LEED certify a cold, dark shell, and this sounds like a step above that.

I have a similar question: can an industrial process building with power-hungry equipment be certified under CS only, separating the HVAC and electrical required for the process equipment inside from those required for the building shell? I'd appreciate your comments.

Natesan, to quote from the LEED rating system selection guidance document from USGBC, LEED-CS is appropriate for "Buildings  that  are  undergoing  new  construction  or  major  renovation  on  its   exterior  shell  and  core  mechanical,  electrical,  and  plumbing  units  but  NOT  a   complete  interior  fit-­out."In other words, you could do CS for an industrial building, but only if the scope of work truly is confined to LEED-CS. You can't use the CS rating system to exclude process loads that are within the project scope.

Thanks, Tristan, for your valuable comments! I understand your quote from the guidance document, but in the above example from Nancy Picard, the industrial condos are owned by the same company, and interior fit-outs will be done as soon as the tenants are known. So if the first tenant is known before the shell is complete, the TI will be done right away it seems. In that case, wouldn't it be considered a complete fit-out (shell + interior)? (It is not clear if they can/will go for LEED on the TI.)
A couple of related issues:
1. The CS rating system description on USGBC site says CS ... "can be used for projects where the developer controls the design and construction of the entire core and shell base building ... but has no control over the design and construction of the tenant fit-out." In the case of Nancy's industrial condos, the same owner/contractor has control over both the shell and the interior fit-outs, it seems.
2. The CS rating system description on USGBC site says: "Projects could include a commercial or medical office building, retail center, warehouse, or lab facility." Industrial buildings are not included in this list. Do you see this as an issue?

Thanks again!

Hi Tristan, I also have a further question in regards to your response to Nancy Picard's example above. How would you address the uncompleted spaces in a CS application? If the Owner will be completing the spaces, would a Letter of Commitment (per LI #10102) satisfy the requirements for uncompleted spaces, without providing Tenant Design and Construction Guidelines? Thanks for your help.

K, are you familiar with CS Appendix 4 from the LEED Reference Guide? If not, I would recommend reviewing it, and then post back here with follow-up.

Hi Tristan. I read through CS Appendix 4. While it clearly covers situations where a Tenant or Sales Agreement exists, this is not the situation for the project I am working on. The Owner, and not the Tenant, will be completing the spaces at a future (unknown) date. Any future tenant would be moving into a space which has already been upfitted by the Owner, per the LEED CS requirements. So, in this case, would a Letter of Commitment suffice? Thanks for your guidance, K

K,

Yes - the Owner's Letter of Commitment is exactly what you would need to provide for the incomplete spaces that will be fit-out by the Owner at a later date.

Thank you, Lauren. Do you or anyone else have an example of an acceptable Letter of Commitment that USGBC will accept? Thank you, K

LEED Interpretation 10102 is pretty specific about what should be included in the Owner's Letter of Commitment. I would doubt that you would be able to find an example of an Owner's Letter of Commitment due to confidentiality issues, but if you follow the LI you should be fine.

Thank you, Lauren and Tristan for your insight.
I will use LI 10102 as a guide. K