Under LEED-CS v2.0, Case 2, for projects with a total gross square footage greater than 300,000 square feet, provide secure bicycle storage for 3% of the occupants for up to 300,000 square feet, then an additional 5% for the occupants for the space over 300,000 square feet. This calculation is done for each use of the building in mixed-use projects. Projects must also provide shower and changing facilities in the building for 5% of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) occupants. Our project consists of 900,000 square feet of office space and 60,000 square feet of retail space. Since the tenants are unknown, occupancy has been calculated using Appendix 1 - Default Occupancy Counts in the LEED-CS v2.0 Reference Guide. Our calculations project 3,600 FTE for office space and 109 FTE for retail space. This requires a total of 210 secure bicycle storage units which will be included in the Core and Shell project. However, the building tenants are unknown. We do not feel it is appropriate to provide shower facilities for an estimated 3,709 occupants as part of the Core and Shell project. Instead of placing 186 shower facilities in a central location, we propose recommending the shower requirement in the tenant guidelines, requiring that each tenant provide shower and changing facilities for 5% of their employees. This will allow the tenants more flexibility to meet spatial and functional requirements, including the location and number of showers. The design team and the owner feel that the intent of the credit is met by this solution. Please rule on whether this approach is acceptable.
As noted in the LEED-CS Rating System introduction (page 8), an owner can choose to make specific lease requirements a part of the tenant negotiations, and if these requirements meet the criteria of a particular credit in the LEED-CS Rating System, the LEED-CS project itself may be able to achieve this credit even if the work is not a part of the core and shell design and construction. The project would need to be able to demonstrate that the lease language requires (rather than recommends) that the build-out of the respective tenant spaces includes sufficient shower and changing facilities for 0.5% (not 5% as noted above) of the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) occupants. If the owner elects to provide these for the tenants, they will need to provide 19 showers for the anticipated FTE number of 3,709 occupants. It should also be clarified that the number of bicycle storage units has also been miscalculated, and should be based on the credit requirements of 3% of the occupants for up to 300,000 square feet, then an additional 0.5% (not 5%) for the occupants for the space over 300,000 square feet. Applicable Internationally.