Our services include free design assistance for public and public-benefit projects, and grants for eligible nonprofit developers of affordable housing. The design assistance program is intended to assist local and regional governmental organizations and nonprofits located in Alameda County to incorporate sustainable or “green” building measures into public buildings and public-benefit projects. Grants for including sustainable landscaping elements into new or renovation civic projects are available via the Bay-Friendly Landscaping Program.

Since 2001, the Green Building Program has provided design assistance services to over 70 public and public-benefit projects at the request of ACWMA’s 17 member agencies. Examples of projects that have received design assistance and grants include: City Halls, Libraries, Fire Stations, Public Office Buildings, Educational Facilities, Affordable Housing Developments, Senior Centers, Community Centers, Justice Facilities, and Courthouses. The program no longer offers grants to civic facilities; however, design assistance is still available for project teams working on new or renovation projects seeking LEED certification.

In order to be eligible for design assistance, the project must be located in Alameda County. The building must be either publicly-owned, publicly-funded, or a public-benefit project, such as affordable housing, developed by a non-profit organization. Eligible projects can receive free design assistance such as:

• Assistance with preparation and review of RFQs and RFPs
• Facilitation and review services at various levels of project completion, including project review, design charette, schematic design, design development, construction documents, build out and commissioning
• Selection and specification of appropriate green building materials
• Help with integrating Bay-Friendly Landscaping practices into the project design

Since 2004, The Green Building Program has provided design assistance and grants for affordable housing projects in Alameda County. Non-profit developers are eligible for grants to offset the cost of GreenPoint Ratings for both new and renovation affordable housing projects.

The design assistance and grants program is ongoing. A pre-application meeting with Agency staff is required prior admission into the program. For more information about free design assistance and green building grants, contact Wes Sullens at 510-891-6500.