Tenant Improvement Manual We have developed a comprehensive Tenant Improvement manual for our project which spans five city blocks, and which includes three current and two future LEED-registered projects. Each LEED-registered project comprises the redevelopment of an entire city block in an urban area. The first three projects consist of combined office and ground-floor retail. The two future LEED projects consist of for-sale condominium units and for-rent multi-family housing respectively, both with ground-floor retail. The T/I manual is approximately 100 pages long, was quite costly to produce, and will be distributed to all commercial and retail tenants in all 5 blocks. The purpose of the manual is to educate the tenants on what green features we have incorporated into the base building and encourage them to pursue similar and complimentary green measures for their tenant improvement build-out. The manual describes a wide range of sustainability-related measures available to our tenants, ranging from sample specifications for tenant improvements to lists of LEED-compliant adhesives, sealants, and paints, to information about local public transportation, recycling, construction waste management and much more. We have also used the manual to offer the services of our environmental design consultant to our tenants, and to publicize our bulk purchasing program for indirect lighting fixtures, fan powered VAV boxes, electrical appliances, and recycled-content carpet. A sample of the manual will be included in our ID Credit submittal. Questions for USGBC 1. We intend to seek an education credit for at least three of the Blocks by meeting the criteria established in Credit Inquiry Ruling 0097-IDc11-092801, most likely by providing guided tours and having a comprehensive signage program in each building. We would like to create a separate ID credit for the Tenant Manual, as we feel strongly that it targets an entirely different market - commercial tenants, as opposed to builders, developers, and the general public which is the audience targeted by the tours and signage program. We request a preliminary ruling from USGBC confirming that we can capture two separate ID credits: one for an education program, and one for the Tenant Manual, assuming our submittals for each of those credits meet the threshold for granting an ID credit. 2. Second, we request confirmation that the ID credit for the Tenant Manual may be captured by multiple LEED projects, which all contributed significant financial support to the creation, production, and ultimately, the distribution of the Manual. This would include the current three which are registered and the two future LEED projects at the site.
The tenant manual as described seems an integral part of the education credit you are seeking. Please review the precedents for approving an education program as an Innovation Credit for LEED projects. On its own, your Tenant Improvement manual would not be considered for a separate innovation credit. It would, however, contribute towards the innovation education credit as part of a comprehensive sustainability educational program for your buildings. As part of your documentation, you should demonstrate the significant efforts towards distributing the manual. Also, to reach the broadest audience for the document, you should show that all tenants of the buildings, including residents in the condominiums and multi-family housing, receive the guide. To capture another LEED point, a project must either further exceed the LEED requirements or pursue an innovative strategy not addressed by LEED. In this case, the Tenant Improvement Manual would have to extend beyond the current, accepted educational program requirements for an innovation credit. Some projects pursue this by adopting lease agreements with language that requires tenants to follow specific sustainability guidelines (described in a TI manual or elsewhere) during build-out. In this way the project is able to go beyond the educational benefits in a measurable way. Applicable internationally.