Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2

Inquiry

Our project, although built in a 3 storey zone, is 4-5 stories and has a building/site density of 90,000 sq feet/acre.\n\nThe building is placed downtown, in the densest area of downtown, where some buildings in the past has gotten variances to build higher, such as 6 and 8 stories. Lower original historic buildings do remain which are 2-3 stories, not covering the site, with the result that the density in the zone barely reach 60,000.\n\nWhen the circle around the site is drawn according to LEED instructions, several area within the circle are in the lower density zone of R-3 and R-2, which typically consists of two and two and a half story Victorian houses. When these areas are included the area density falls below 60,000.\n\nWe believe our project meets the intent of the credit by:\n\n1. Having a site density of 90,000, well above the density required.\n2. Is located in the densest (by far) area of the City, in the heart of town serviced by a complete bundle of infrastructure, including district heat and public transportation.\n3. Project is located in the highest density zone. Lower zones within the circle should be excluded from the calculations, just like roadways, and streams are.\n4. Previous buildings, demolished to make place for new structure, were 2 to 2 1/2 story houses with estimated density below 30,000\n\nComment: The 60,000 area density seems arbitrary. It would be way too low for downtown Manhattan or Pittsburg, but may be too high for hinterland and northern cities and towns, where it seems projects would still meet intent, if the project itself is dense, and located centrally serviced by existing infrastructure.