This Core and Shell v2.0 project includes 12 stories of parking within a 40 story commercial office building. There will be a total of 1,454 parking spaces in the building. Of these, 73 spaces will be designated as Low-Emitting/Fuel Efficient vehicle parking to meet SSc4.3 credit requirements. Only building workers/employees will be permitted to park in the garage, and all visitors will be required to use the garage valet service. To enter the building, employees must park in the garage and then take an elevator to the main floor entrance. Occupants may not enter the building at any entrance other than the main ground level entrance. Building tenants will need to pay for parking spaces for their employees and will have the choice to purchase non-assigned parking spaces or assigned spaces (assigned spaces will be "preferred" and also more expensive). The owner considers the designation of "preferred" spaces closest to the elevator vestibules for LE/FE vehicles to be a market barrier. Users pay a premium to park close to elevators in this market, and revenue generated is essential to funding building operations. As stated in the USGBC LEED CS Reference Guide v2.0, "For projects that demonstrate market barriers to the definition of \'preferred parking closest to the main entrance,\' alternatives to may be considered on a case-by-case basis." The project proposes to provide dedicated parking spaces for LE/FE vehicles within 100 feet of the elevator vestibules. The farthest parking space from the elevator vestibule is 260 feet. We feel this approach is able to provide preferred spaces for green cars without cutting into the revenue the owner needs to generate from the premium slots closest to the elevators. In total, at least 73 spaces(5%) within 100 feet of the elevator vestibules will be designated parking for LE/FE vehicles.
The project team proposes that locating LE/FE parking spaces in preferred locations directly adjacent to elevator vestibules is a market barrier, since it displaces "premium" preferred parking that is provided at additional costs and whose revenue supports the building owner\'s operational budget. Current design calls for 1,454 parking spaces on twelve floors, with 73 preferred spaces necessary to comply with credit requirements. The project team proposes that LE/FE vehicles would be located adjacent to, but beyond these "premium" preferred parking spaces, clustered around the elevator vestibule of each of the garage\'s twelve stories and within 100\' (of a possible 260\') from the elevator vestibules. No, this situation does not constitute a market barrier to the creation of truly preferable LE/FE parking spaces. Parking spaces located near distant elevator vestibules on far away parking levels are generally not considered preferred spaces. Typical credit compliance would have all LE/FE parking spaces clustered around the first elevator vestibule that is encountered upon entering the garage, as the elevator vestibule represents the main entrance to the building. Therefore all 73 parking spaces should be provided on the main floor of the parking garage. Alternately, the project team can distribute preferred parking on more than one level away from the garage\'s main entrance, as long as it is no more than 1 level away from this main entrance and the majority of the preferred parking is available on the main floor of the parking garage. Since it is assumed that each floor of parking will provide approximately 120 parking spaces (1454/73) and the submittal indicates that distributing "premium" preferred parking near elevator vestibules on multiple parking levels is a viable option, it does not appear that providing all of the LE/FE preferred parking directly adjacent to elevator vestibules on the main garage entrance level, disabled parking withstanding, represents a true market barrier. Elevating the importance of LE/FE vehicles above premium parking speaks directly to the incentive that credit requirements aim to create.