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

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner\'s Office Expansion is an addition to an existing building, with a small amount of renovation where the new addition engages with the existing building. The existing facility, built in 1985, is 26,555 square feet. The addition will be approx. 43,000 square feet, and will connect to the existing building. The project is seeking certification under LEED NCv2.2. The Expansion is funded by public bond funds, approved by Tarrant County voters in 2000. Included in the Bond was funding only for the Expansion, and very minimal work in the existing building. As such, Tarrant County, and the Design Team would like to exclude the existing building from the LEED Project Boundary (LPB). Tarrant County seeks LEED Certification of the new facility only, and cannot commit public funds to the existing facility in any kind of upgrades that would be required to make the 1985 facility comply with LEED NC v2.2 guidelines. The Design Team would locate the LPB in such a way that the site area surrounding both the existing building and the new addition would be included, except that essentially the footprint of the existing facility would be excluded. We believe this approach to be acceptable, based on the 3-30-2005 CIR which stated "It is permissible to set the LEED project boundary to exclude portions of the site as is reasonable in complicated scenarios, such as in your case, providing that the same boundary and scope are used for all credits." However, two areas within the existing building would need to be considered for LEED credits, though they would technically fall outside the LPB. First, the existing building already has the appropriate quantity of showers and changing rooms required for SS Credit 4.2. The showers would be within 200 yards of the entrance to both the existing facility, as well as the new addition. Second, the Design Team would like to locate the Recyclables Collection area (MR Prereq. 1) in the existing building, directly adjacent to the existing employee Break Room, with direct access to the exterior near the dumpster yard. This is the most sensible place within the entire facility for this collection area to be located. We seek confirmation that we may locate the LEED Project Boundary in such a way that it excludes the existing building, yet allows Tarrant County and the Design Team to locate the Recyclables Collection Area outside the LPB, as well as consider the existing showers already within the existing facility.