Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell, LEED BD+C: Schools

Rating System Version

v3 - LEED 2009, v2 - Schools 2007, v2 - LEED 2.2, v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

This project consists of the rehabilitation of a one-story brick warehouse in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, built by the Arizona Hardware Supply Company in 1930. It has been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and formal listing is anticipated following review and approval by the National Park Service (NPS). The building will be rehabilitated in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior\'s Standards for Historic Preservation. Plans are being reviewed by the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The warehouse will be converted into a commercial office housing about 40 people, and may be the first project in Phoenix to combine LEED-NC certification with the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Existing brick walls are of double wythe construction, 8 inches in nominal thickness, with original bricks set in a common bond pattern. Consistent with the Secretary of the Interior\'s Standards for Rehabilitation, changes to the building that would alter the historic character, both inside and outside, are not recommended by the SHPO and NPS. Therefore, the addition of insulation to the interior or exterior walls is prohibited since it would alter one of the main "character-defining features" of this building. The ground floor level and surface of the concrete floor are also subject to the constraints of the SHPO/NPS requirements. The only proposed alterations to the building envelope are the addition of storm windows, with insulated glass placed on the interior of the window opening to provide thermal efficiency, and providing insulation to a value of R-30 for a roof that has never been insulated. EAp2 requires this renovation project to comply with ASHRAE 90.1 2004 Sections 5-10 and EAc1 requires that the project secure 2 points, or a 7% improvement over the same ASHRAE standards. While we anticipate meeting the mandatory and prescriptive requirements listed in Sections 6-10, we are unable to meet the requirements in Section 5: Building Envelope. ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Section 4.2.1.3 lists exceptions to compliance with Sections 5-10 for "a building that has been specifically designated as historically significant by the adopting authority or is listed in \'The National Register of Historic Places,\' or has been determined to be eligible for listing by the US Secretary of the Interior need not comply with these requirements." In a Credit Interpretation Ruling dated 5/27/2008, a brick warehouse project similar to this one, also being renovated to meet the Secretary of the Interior\'s standards, and reviewed by the applicable SHPO, and the NPS, was granted permission "to exclude those components that cannot be upgraded to meet the mandatory and prescriptive requirements due to the standards of the Secretary of the Interior and of the National Park Service from demonstrating compliance" in order to comply with LEED Energy and Atmosphere requirements. With this in mind, will this project be allowed to meet EA Prerequisite 2 without securing two points under EAc1, considering that ASHRAE 90.1-2004 exempts the project from meeting the requirements, owing to its historical significance?