LEED ND certification has been requested for a site made up of half existing occupied buildings and half buildings under construction which are nearing completion. How would the buildings under construction be classified for the purposes of LEED, as existing or new? The design of most buildings under construction did not consider LEED requirements and may not comply with LEED ND prerequisite criteria.
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Eliot Allen
LEED AP-ND, PrincipalCriterion Planners
LEEDuser Expert
303 thumbs up
May 11, 2015 - 12:49 pm
Philippa, my apologies for the terrible delay in responding, but I didn't get notice of your question until now. For purposes of ND, "existing" is defined as the date a project submission is submitted for certification review (not the date of project registration). Buildings that have received local certificates of occupancy prior to ND submission would be considered existing. Again, sorry for the delay in replying.
Eliot
Eliot Allen
LEED AP-ND, PrincipalCriterion Planners
LEEDuser Expert
303 thumbs up
May 12, 2015 - 11:01 am
Philippa, to avoid any possible misunderstanding I should clarify my earlier response to include the distinction made on page 24 of the ND v4 Reference Guide Development Program section that 'existing' buildings are those undergoing no, or minor, alterations; but if an existing building undergoes major renovation as part of the ND project, it becomes new construction for purposes of the rating system.
Eliot
Eliot Allen
LEED AP-ND, PrincipalCriterion Planners
LEEDuser Expert
303 thumbs up
May 12, 2015 - 11:30 am
Philippa, one more important clarification that represents a change from v2009 to v4 that I failed to mention in my first reply: under v4, a built or constructed feature is not considered 'existing' on the date of certification submission if the feature was constructed by the project developer as part of the ND project.
So in response to your original question, if the buildings you describe as under construction are being built by the ND developer as part of the ND project, they're considered new construction even if completed prior to the date of certification submission.
Eliot
Philippa Cameron
ArchitectCH2M
1 thumbs up
May 14, 2015 - 12:57 am
Eliot, thank you for your reply and clarification.
Our ND site is only one part of a much larger area owned by the same Client. They have been developing across the area for some years but are now revising the Masterplan and with this exercise wish to seek ND certification for one parcel of land with a view to future certification of the remaining parcels at a later date.
In our parcel there are a number of existing buildings, and buildings under construction, that pre-date the new Masterplan. These are part of the older strategic arrangement by the same Client/developer. Is it likely that USGBC would accept if we state that the ND project is dated around the new Masterplan only? If not, and then if all existing buildings and those under construction need to be considered and comply, it sounds as though ND would be difficult to achieve for the proposed parcel.
Many thanks, Philippa
Eliot Allen
LEED AP-ND, PrincipalCriterion Planners
LEEDuser Expert
303 thumbs up
May 14, 2015 - 11:43 am
Philippa, if your client has an uninterrupted history of site ownership, then your suggestion of the master plan revision start date as the ND start date sounds logical, as long as ND wasn't entertained or acted upon before that date. However, because 'pre-project conditions' are defined on page 24 of the v4 Reference Guide as those present on the date the developer acquired the property, I recommend you get a staff opinion about your circumstance, and whether it needs a CIR.
I also want to clarify my May 12 comment about existing buildings that undergo major renovation as part of an ND project becoming 'new construction' for purposes of applying the rating system. I should have said such buildings become either 'new construction' or 'major renovations' depending on the prerequisite or credit that being applied.
Eliot