Would a project still qualify for Option 1 Historic Building Reuse if it has a local historic designation (requiring maintenance of the building exterior components)? The interior nonstructural elements are being removed and there will some demolition. All demolition work will go through approval of the local historic preservation review board.
The following two lines suggest it would not:
"Maintain the existing building structure, envelope, and interior nonstructural elements of a historic building"
"Do not demolish any part of a historic building or contributing building in a historic district unless it is deemed structurally unsound or hazardous."
But this would suggest it would:
"For buildings listed locally, approval of any demolition must be granted by the local historic preservation review board. "
Any insights on whether this qualifies would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
January 31, 2018 - 11:38 am
I would think this should be allowed by LEED. I would check with GBCI to be sure. You don't specify, but I wonder if the interior non-structural elements are historical at this point, or not? If they are not, it seems like that would make plenty of sense. Even if they are, the approval of the local authority should mean a lot.
Dimuth Kurukulaarachchi
January 31, 2018 - 11:48 am
Thanks Tristan, the interior non-structural elements are are not considered historical
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
370 thumbs up
June 8, 2018 - 11:43 am
Tristan / Dimuth, did either of you find a more definitive response on which of these conflicting requirements to follow? I'm looking at an identical situation now and "do not demolish any part" isn't possible - it's adaptive reuse from office to hotel space. Demolition of non-historical interior components with preservation authority approval sounds much more reasonable...
Michelle Bombeck
Associate PrincipalO'Brien360
34 thumbs up
October 16, 2023 - 2:12 pm
Dusting off this post to see if Dimuth or Emily have any feedback or lessons learned on the demolition of interior elements? Is the nuance that you can demolish interior non-structural elements as long as they are not considered historical and don't impact the historical designation?
Douglas Flandro
Sustainability Design Leader, Exhibit Designer, AssociateCambridgeSeven
9 thumbs up
October 17, 2023 - 8:36 am
I think that is correct. We achieved these points on a building with historic envelope and structure. We removed some interior structural and non-structural elements that were not considered historic. Our new design restored much of the original structural scheme of the building. All changes were approved by a local historical preservation authority.