I posted this in the PIf1 forum before seeing this one. I tried to delete it there, but couldn't see how. Sorry for the repost.
The project in question is being constructed on an dense, urban medical campus. All future buildings on campus are to be LEED.
The site was originally a surface parking lot. This project is using half the site. Apx half the parking lot is to remain and is being disturbed by rework (some new islands, etc) for updated traffic flow, repair as the existing lot is being used as construction layoff space, and some utility work. The original LEED boundary we drew was the same as the construction limit line on the drawings - including everything I described above. In the future though, there has been some initial planning for another building on an adjacent lot. At that time the remaining parking lot from our project would be demo'd for part of future building footprint and vegetated, pedestrian plaza. The LEED boundary required for that future project overlaps with disturbed area from this project (and our current LEED boundary). This seems like a typical situation for urban campus' as the next project might not be for 10 years and the site needs to look finished in the interim.
It seems no matter how we draw the boundary we are in conflict with requirement 1 or 4 of MPR #3.
MPR #3 requirement 1 states that 1.The LEED project boundary must include... all land that was or will be disturbed for the purpose of undertaking the LEED project
MPR #3 requirement 4 states "no given parcel of real property within the LEED project boundary has ever been or ever will be attributed to another LEED project building"
Thoughts?
Susan Walter
HDRLEEDuser Expert
1296 thumbs up
April 2, 2014 - 1:47 pm
I have many, many thoughts about this exact issue and have discussed this with USGBC and GBCI people. Here are some thoughts beyond yes, this is a problem.
1. Carefully consider declaring this a campus and using the associated guidelines. This keeps you out of MPR3, requirement 4 issues. However, there are some very real downsides to making the hospital a campus.
2. Review any site items that were done or will be done for the project years prior to the building occupancy. One of our projects had a road constructed in a separate project that I included in the LEED boundary for a current project. The road had to be built for the LEED project to occur so for me this fell into requirement #1. While talking to the GBCI, they were surprised that I had had that interpretation and they were going to discuss this kind of issue internally. In short, there may be some leeway, which leads to my next thought.
3. Talk to the GBCI and get them to pre-approve your LEED project boundary. Hospitals have some of the trickiest project boundaries around and it is going to take a conversation with them. Getting something from them in writing will help when your in final review and the reviewers have all changed. You know it takes years for hospital project to get built.
4. I interpret requirement 4 on hospital campuses to mean those credits like storm water that are meant to be 'lifetime'. Avoiding those kind of credits with your current project should help your future arguments if you do not declare the hospital as a campus.
As for what we do here, we tend to avoid the campus declaration if we can. We don't like the thought that the whole existing building / collection of buildings would need to be considered. We have been able to work around MPR issues by talking with the GBCI and in some ways, getting lucky. We do have one urban hospital with a campus since there was no way around it. Fortunately, it is not a massive urban campus.
Good luck,
Susan
Becky Dix
Christner Architects7 thumbs up
April 2, 2014 - 2:53 pm
Susan,
Thanks for all your insight. This is not the first LEED project on the campus for this organization (making it more confusing is the campus is made up of multiple organizations) and I doubt at the current design/construction phase registering a Master Site is a viable option.
I believe we will need to push forward as a single building certification.
You recommended to talk to the GBCI and get them to pre-approve your LEED project boundary. What channels have you used to communicate with GBCI/USGBC? Did you have it approved as a formal inquiry?
I have used the contact us link from the website, but those response emails seem to take weeks if not a month to receive. I hear you can have a representative assigned to your project but only after the design submission has been made? Any information you have about quickly and efficiently communicating with GBCI would be appreciated.