PI Form 2 Project Summary Details

Mario, please post this question to our new PIf2 forum—see the link above. Thanks!

Hello Everyone,
still haven´t solved problem described above.
We´ve tought of an alternative, describing at the aditional details, that the previosly constructed parking lot, even though isn´t in the Project boundary, it can be used by the building users, since it´s owned by the company, and it´s part of the company´s industry complex.
Is that allowed? Present this kind of explanation in the Aditional Details?

One other question that came up. Since our project building is located inside the company industry plant, and is part of a greater site boundary, should we mark it as a project located in a campus?

Hi Green Domus,
In terms of your first question, why are you trying to include the parking outside the boundary. Wouldn't it be easier to just say no new parking, which seems to be the case?

For your second question, what we usually do is simply write a note to the reviewer in the "Special Circumstances" section (just check the box and a field will open). This will also provide you with upload capacity to further clarify your situation.

In terms of your campus question I would say no unless your client intends on certifying other portions of the complex. You should read the Application Guide for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Projects, which can be found here: https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=10486 and this should give you a better idea. Hope this helps...

Thank you Ward, it really helps.
We thought it´d be important to mention that the factory complex already have parking spaces, But I´ll change it, like you proposed. Will say that no new parking was created and only mention the previosly constructed parking lot in the Special Circumstances section.
Also thanks for the Application Guide link. Will read it right away!

Ann, based on what you've said so far I would take the term literally and provide a measurement of the square footage of parking areas—and not include other hardscapeHardscape consists of the inanimate elements of the building landscaping. Examples include pavement, roadways, stone walls, concrete paths and sidewalks, and concrete, brick, and tile patios. areas that are not used for conventional parking, such as the areas you mention.

Tristan, if you could please clarify your statement above... Does the SF of the parking area include the circulation path of travel to get to the parking spots or just the spots themselves?

Kyle, I would not just count the spots, but the whole parking lot. My comment to Ann was in light of unique circumstances she mentioned.

I'm not sure what rating system you're using, but for the rating systems for New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, Retail – New Construction and Healthcare, you should be aware of MPR#2 (Minimum Program Requirement), which states,

"LEED projects must include the new, ground-up design and construction, or major renovation, of at least one commercial, institutional, or high-rise residential building in its entirety."

In other words "in its entirety" means that you can not exclude upper floors and lower floors, or even separate wings of the building. Alternatively, if you are applying for Core and Shell, you might approach the hotel area the same as a tenant spaceTenant space is the area within the LEED project boundary. For more information on what can and must be in the LEED project boundary see the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) and LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance. Note: tenant space is the same as project space.. Your LEED boundary would still include the whole building and all of the building shellThe exterior walls, roof, and lowest floor of a building, which serve to separate and protect the interior from the elements (precipitation, sunlight, wind, temperature variations)., but you would be able to exclude some of the hotel's interior work (like recycled content) from the certification.

Diana,

Generally you should upload only the most universal file types. I would discourage you from uploading AutoCAD files as the review team could easily have issues viewing them (different versions of the program, etc.). I usually stick to PDFs and occationally a Word or Excel document. 

Hope that helps!

Emily,

Thank you for your message. Is it Ok to upload Zip files?

Hi Diana,

Based on our previous project, Zip files are acceptable but autoCAD and .rar file formats are not supported by LEED Online at the moment. You can upload your documents in the following file formats which are currently supported by LEED Online: DOC, PDF, ZIP, JPG, or XLS.

Thank you, Grace!

The site area would be the building footprintBuilding footprint is the area on a project site used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan. Parking lots, parking garages, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities are not included in the building footprint. and surounding areas at grade that are within the LEED boundary. In CI this is usually only entered if you are pursuing SSc1 to get credit for the site performance (stormwater, landscaping, light pollution, brownfieldAbandoned, idled, or under used industrial and commercial facilities/sites who expansion, redevelopment, or reuse is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination (may include hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants). They can be in urban, suburban, or rural areas. EPA's Brownfields initiative helps communities mitigate potential health risks and restore the economic vitality of such areas or properties. (EPA) , etc) or SSc2 for the proximity of your site to urban density/ services.

The total square footage of all floors is entered in the "Gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. of the building in which the project is located."

David,

Thank you for your answer. We are indeed pursuing SSc1 and SSc2. It's good to confirm that it is Ok to have site area be less than the building area.

What defines Actual or Estimated square footage in this context?

Josep - The area devoted to parking garages may not be included in the gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. of the building.

Sue, "facility alterations" has a specific definition, at least in the context of LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems.. See the FAQ's section of the EBOM MRc3 page for more.

If that is what the form is looking for, then I think fit-out would be the opposite of alteration -- a more complete renovation project.

Michael, if the retail space represents less than 10% of the total building gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features., it can be exempted from the LEED certification documentation. If it is more than that, it (or some portion thereof) must be included. Excluding spaces can get messy and confusing, if not downright contradictory, for many prerequisites and credits (EAp2 and EQp2 come to mind immediately), but the key is the fraction of the building under consideration. There is more detail on this topic to be found in the Introduction to the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. Reference Guide.
Hope that helps,
Dan

Dan,
Many thanks for your reply.
Is this applicable for all leed rating systems?
We are using the Core & Shell rating system.
How do we mention we omitted space in the forms?

As I understand it, this breakdown relates to activity on the building during the performance period, rather than over its entire lifetime. That's the only relevant piece of information they could possibly be asking for. The other possibility is that PIForm 2 was originally designed for BD&C and simply carried over to EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. without too much asking about how applicable that information was to an existing building project. . .

Hope that helps,

Dan

Thank you, Dan. I will proceed based on that logical assumption.

If you are referring to the next version of LEED (called LEED 2012 on this site), then you would be able to upgrade a LEED v3 project to the newer version when it is balloted and approved. There are some limitations on whether you can do the upgrade, for example, you can't move to the newer program after your project has submitted the design review.

If you are talking about version 4 forms in LEED Online, you can request the upgrade directly from the GBCI. Each generation of LEED Online forms is know by a number and 4 is the current form number.

With LEED CI the project you certify is often a smaller part of a whole building.
For example, a company is moving into a renovated office on two floors of a 10 story building. Lets assume they are renting this space in the office building, and are not renovating the bathrooms and corridor around the elevator on these two floors.
The Building Gross Area includes all 10 floors of the whole building including ground floor lobby maintenance rooms, service areas, etc. The Project Gross Area only includes the renovated office area on the two floors that the company is renting. It would not include the common areas of those floors such as elevator, bathrooms, and maintenance closets, etc, because those were not renovated for this project.

Sometimes a CI project will occupy all floors of a building. In that case the Gross Project area would be almost as large as the Building Gross Area, but often there are common areas or maintenance areas that are not being renovated as part of the LEED project. These would not be part of the Gross Building Area, but not part of the Project Gross Area.
Does that explain the phrases for your situation?

Thank you David

But there is not understood; you mentioned that "Sometimes a CI project will occupy all floors of a building. In that case the Gross Project area would be almost as large as the Building Gross Area, but often there are common areas or maintenance areas that are not being renovated as part of the LEED project. These would not be part of the Gross Building Area, but not part of the Project Gross Area" and in my case the whole building (3 stories) is renovated, and I think the Gross project and Building are the same??? and we will register the whole building as LEED CI, SO doese the Gross Building area includes only the renovated parts, while the Gross Project includes renovated and not renovated parts.??

Thanks for clarifying your situation. The Gross Building Area is the whole building: both renovated and non-renovated parts. The Gross Project Area is only the renovated parts.

If you are renovating the whole building, I'm wondering if LEED CI is the right rating system. Usually LEED NC is used for major renovations. Is there a reason you are using CI? When people have trouble deciding which rating system to use there are two resources that can help:

1) The LEED Rating System Selection Policy
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6667

2) LEED Online version 3
You can start to register a LEED project and not finish the registration, so it won't cost anything.
-- Click the "Register a New Project" button
-- At Step 2 of the Rating System Selection choose "I'm not sure which rating system to use."
-- When you get about 6 questions further, (after it asks about the number of projects, whether it is neighborhood, etc) you will reach a question about "Construction Scope."
-- If you have a "Major Renovation" of more than 60% of the building, this takes you to LEED NC after a few more questions.
What's a Major Renovation?
-- If you are renovating interior walls, ceilings, finishes, and just moving HVAC ducts and lighting, this is called an Alteration, and uses LEED CI.
-- If you are also making changes to the building roof, exterior, windows, structure, or replacing any major HVAC equipment such as boiler, chiller, heaters, etc, than it is a Major Renovation and uses NC. (These terms are all defined in the Glossary of the MPR Supplemental Guidance.)

Take a look at those resources and post back here if you hav any more questions.

Thank you David;

you made me think more in my project!!!...the Engineering Training center (owned by Engineering Association.) that we are pursuing LEED is Existing Building and we are doing renovation and alteration of interior walls, decoration, HVAC systems, Water and Energy system, and it is still occupied (there are many training courses that could not be postponed under renovation), as your answer the project could not be CI, it has to be NC with major renovation???,

1. We are pursuing LEED for CI, but am not sure if it is CI or could be a NC with a major renovation, since the project is existing building with the following features:
The project is a Training Center (owned by Jordanian Engineering Association) with three stories, it is still occupied (there are many implementing training courses) by trainees and staff along with alterations of decorative materials, windows, and renovation (changing all HVAC systems, water and energy systems), so by definition of both CI and NC we are still confused of which rating system is suitable for the project.
2. We pursuing low emitting, recycled…etc credits and the materials Cut Sheet are rarely found, could we sign the credits without these Cut Sheets.
3. Could we submit the Lease Ownership Proof in Arabic Language or it must be translated to English Language.
4. Some credits need representative photos that are dated, and in our case the photos are not dated, could we submit them without date.

Does anyone know if property records require proof of type of renovation? We are looking into a particular property that seems to meet qualifications, but have yet to track down paper work(Communication with current owners is a whole ordeal, so clarity there may answer all questions).
The clarification on "major innovation" above is very helpful. Thanks.

Ola, there are some situations where either CI or NC could be used, such as when you are close to the definition of a Major Renovation. It's not a strict rule that your project can only qualify for one rating system. You have the flexibility to decide which one makes the most sense here. If the building is going to be more than half occupied during the work, it sounds like CI may be a better choice.
If you don't have cut sheets, you will need some kind of official letter from the product manufacturer or supplier to verify the % of recycled content, VOC emissions, etc. These and other supporting documents do need to be in English for the GBCI reviewers. You can try to submit photos without dates, but I don't know how strict the review will be.

Markus,
I haven't seen projects being asked for proof of renovation type. Often there are some permit documents or construction drawings that define the limits of the work being done, so that has usually been enough.

Ola, if you roll over the green text above for each of those terms, GSF, and GFA, you'll see definitions that should show the difference between them. I think those definitions provide a basis for your other questions.

Thank you Tristan

But I still wondering about the
1) initial fit out
2) the percentage of alteration work
3) can you provide me with a samples showing me how could I fill the MPR templates (Pif 1-5)

Ola, I think those figures depend on the scope of your project, right?

I'm sorry but I don't currently have an example of those forms.

It is a bit of a grey area, but the relevant sections of the new MPR guidance from June 2011 appears to be page 18 and the top of page 21.

It looks like it may be possible to register it as one CI project if you meet the conditions a thru f: (unreasonable to draw boundary at party walls, it is a single construction contract, you are certifying all of the work, clear boundaries and signage, etc) To meet condition F - not create an difficult review process - you would probably need to show that you are doing identical or very similar work in the spaces that are in different buildings. In general, if it is treated as one project, the information you fill out for a credit form needs to be true for the spaces in both buildings. If the two buildings have very different energy use, different ventilation systems, different lighting power densities, etc, it going to be hard to document it as a single project.

If the buildings or improvements being done are significantly different, you probably will need to treat it as a campus, or at least use the "Block" function so that you get the same reviewer for both projects and can cross-reference shared project information.

Thank you, David. The intent and purpose of the space is the same, just that one building selected in the estate is insufficient to accommodate all the occupants so had to be spilled over to the adjoining building, which is identical in core & shell and base building lighting and HVAC infrastructure.

So I imagine we can register as one LEED-CI project.

George, from Appendix 1 of the BD&C Reference Guide, page 612: "Projects which contain underground and/or structured parking, may exclude that area from the gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. used for the [occupancy count] calculation."

I think this answers your question.

I'm assuming you're asking about the CI - 2009 form. I've not seen this used, but imagine it might apply if you are including a space in the LEED project area because it is part of the tenant's leased area but may not be undergoing renovation. Perhaps a storage room, work room, or other support space is being re-used from the previous tenant's plan without being altered. Since it is part of the overall office area, you'd want to include it in the project boundary, but use this form field to distinguish that area from other areas undergoing alteration.

If you are pursuing LEED CI, the core areas such as elevators & lobbies, common restrooms, mechanical rooms, would not typically be included in the LEED project boundary since those are not the tenant spaceTenant space is the area within the LEED project boundary. For more information on what can and must be in the LEED project boundary see the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) and LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance. Note: tenant space is the same as project space. and are typically a different scope of work. Hope that explains it.

We have a CI build-out project in a previously undeveloped space in an exising office building. The bulk of the work is within the office new build-out but there is some minor ancillary work in the common areas-- restrooms (new aerators) and the mechanical rooms (add'l. HVAC equipment).

It is my understanding that the 'total project gross SF' can be limited to the new office buildoutThe time at which all habitable buildings on the project are complete and ready for occupancy. areas per the lease, or must we also include any ancillary common space outside the lease in which minor work occurs?

This would obviously impact numerous credits and I can't find this discussed in the CI Refer. Guide so your guidance is appareciated, thanks, John

My assumption would be that you don't need to include the restrooms and mechanical rooms in the square footage, but you'll need to include those fixtures and equipment in credits that take into account the tenant scope of work.

Tristan, thanks again.

Do you know if this info is in the Ref. Guide or is it something you've learned thru project experience? It seems like it could be a common question for a CI project.

And I really appreciate LEEDuser--keep up the good work.

John- we received guidance from a certification team that is very similar to what Tristan wrote about. I have not, however, found this info in writing in any official USGBC/GBCI documents.