Fresno, CA. USGBC Central California is excited to congratulate Lee Miyamoto on winning First Place and Dayle Edinborough on winning second place in the 2024 Adaptive Reuse Design Competition. The competition was held by USGBC Central California and sponsored by AARP for local students in the region. Construction, engineering, and design students were invited to submit proposals.

Students were invited to share their ideas and find unique ways to adaptively reuse the existing Nippon 2 building in the Japanese part of Fresno’s Chinatown while incorporating decarbonization, heat island reduction, and social infrastructure strategies. The building has been empty for years and does not conform to current code regulations. This area of Fresno has been getting lots of attention recently, due to the development of a High-Speed Rail Station which will have an entrance facing Chinatown, and the rising housing costs leaving many residents in need of shelter. The 2024 Adaptive Reuse Design Competition highlights the opportunities in using underused buildings to serve the needs of a town with an aging population.

Historical backgrounds, neighborhoods, and land demographics were considered when designing the new repurposed property. The designs focused on the needs of an aging population with an average age of 50 and accessible for all people regardless of disability or social status.

The project brought together many partners to develop guidelines and evaluate the submissions, including the Mayor’s office, City of Fresno Economic Development Department, Fresno State Interior Design Department, Gazarian Real Estate Center, Chinatown Foundation, and AARP to make this visioning project a reality.

Our Adaptive Reuse Design Competition winners were announced during the USGBC Central California’s Design Showcase and Holiday Party, which took place on the 10th floor of The Grand 1401, only a couple blocks away from the existing Nippon 2 building in the Japanese part of Fresno's Chinatown. Winners were picked anonymously, and their names were not shown to judges before the competition or when judging their proposals at any time.

Adaptive Reuse is one of the greenest ways a building can make a green impact. Using existing buildings for new usage is key, as it reduces waste, saves materials, extends the useful life of buildings, preserves culture, articulates heritage, and most importantly transforms underused spaces for communities.

This September and October, the Fresno Council of Governments (Fresno COG) is asking the community’s help to develop the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). As a key part of the planning process, the community is asked to fill out a survey to gather community suggestions and feedback on the greatest transportation needs in Fresno County, including bike lanes, bus stops, sidewalks, road improvements, and others. Your thoughts and input will ultimately help shape the 2026 RTP and help the region’s cities and the county prioritize project funding based on needs and available resources. In Spring 2025 Fresno COG will be identifying possible greenhouse gas reduction options the public should weigh in on.

To provide your own feedback, and to learn more about the project and where you can find us next, please check out our dedicated RTP/SCS website, PlanFresno.com. All in-person event materials will be available online.

Stay Updated

For up-to-date information about this project, please visitPlanFresno.com. Fill out our survey at our Website. If you have questions, please email the project team at info@fresnocog.org or call (559) 233-4148

About the Project

Every four years, state and federal regulations require Fresno COG to update our Regional Transportation Plan, a plan for the future of Fresno County’s regional transportation system. These plans are developed with the help of substantial community feedback and extensive data gathering to ensure alignment with existing community plans and local planning documents, which reflect the future needs and desires of our community. To learn more about the project and participate in the process, please visitour webpage or take a survey to tell Fresno COG your transportation needs and suggestions.

 

About Fresno COG

Fresno Council of Governments (Fresno COG) is a Metropolitan Planning Organization involving over 16 different cities. Fresno COG is a voluntary association of local governments – one of California’s 38 regional planning agencies and one of 500+ nationwide. Fresno COG works by conducting studies, planning, and funding for the future of Fresno County. Every 4 years this organization updates a Regional Transportation Plan to be implemented through public participation through surveys. This Transportation plan is a framework for a 20-year vision for Fresno County. 

The 2024 Adaptive Reuse Design Competition is asking all participants to adaptively reuse the existing Nippon building to enable residential or mixed-use usage in Fresno’s Chinatown. All designs will need to highlight sustainability through heat island mitigation, decarbonization, and social infrastructure strategies. The historic background of the building and neighborhood shall be considered in the design. The design needs to include the needs of the aging population and be adapted for accessibility. 

Competition Guidelines

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

PARTICIPANT SIGN UP

IMPORTANT DATES

Public Walk of Building:

Thursday, October 3rd, 3:30 - 5:30PM

SIGN UP REQUIRED

Design showcase and public choice election:

Thursday, December 12, 5PM

More information and updates 

Fresno, CA. The US Green Building Council Central California (USGBC-CC) announced the first annual winners of the ADUs for all ages 2023 Design Competition.  The designs were displayed at this year’s Tiny House Expo at the Fresno Home and Garden Show.  A distinguished jury selected first, and second place awards and a public choice winner was voted by the public at the exhibition. 

The expert panel of judges including Andres Jaurique, Executive Director Gazarian Real Estate Center, Dan Fitzpatrick, President, Tiny Home Industry Association (THIA), Michelle Zumwalt, Architect, City of Fresno, and Dr. Ajith Weerasinghe, Assistant Professor Mechanical Engineering, voted Fresno architect Arthur Dyson’s entry for the First Place Award.  Additionally, Dyson was also awarded the Second Place Award. The People’s Choice Award went to Gladys Molina, an architect with the City of Fresno.

An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a secondary housing unit that is either attached to or located on the same property as a primary residence. These units, also known as granny flats, in-law suites, or backyard cottages, provide additional living space while maintaining the character of the existing neighborhood.

The ADUs for all ages design competition asked participants to design a sustainable Accessory Dwelling Unit, to enable multigenerational living on an existing single-family. All designs were required to be sustainable and include passive design elements and fit the needs of aging individuals. The designs had to comply with the California State Building Code and be adaptable for accessibility. The focus was on multi-generational living arrangements and featured sustainable solutions.

The size was limited to 350 to 500 square feet with one-bedroom, bath, kitchenette and living area. The building systems included solar panels and batteries, HVAC systems with passive ventilation systems may be used to minimize HVAC operational time and additional passive design elements.

Additional sponsors were the Fresno Home Shows, AIA San Joaquin and the Tiny Home Industry Association. Funding was provided by the AARP Community Challenge Grant. 

About USGBC Central California

The US Green Building Council Central California is a 501c3 nonprofit organization located in Fresno, CA with the mission to engage San Joaquin Valley communities in the transformational development and promotion of ecologically healthy built environments. USGBC-CC’s work centers on community engagement, education, networking, and advocacy for solutions that are good for human health, communities, and the climate. USGBC-CC is a partner of the City of Fresno in its Transform Fresno project focused on creating transformative climate communities and led the design for the Circle V Indigenous and Environmental Resource Center in collaboration with the San Joaquin River Conservancy.

The American Institute of Architects, California (AIACA) announces the launch of the tenth annual Architecture at Zero competition focused on decarbonization, equity and resilience in building design. The annual competition is open for entries from students and professionals worldwide.

This year, AIACA will partner with Self Help Enterprises in Visalia, CA, to develop a design challenge to create affordable housing for farmworkers in California’s Central Valley. Up to $25,000 in prize money, is awarded by a jury of international experts.

“The American Institute of Architects, California is excited to collaborate on this important initiative that affirms the role of architects in leading efforts to use design to curtail climate change,” said Brett Dougherty, AIA, AIACA President. The competition strives to generate new, innovative, decarbonization building design ideas that respond to equity and resilience and help achieve California’s ambitious energy goals.

“Self Help Enterprises is delighted to participate in the 2021-22 Architecture at Zero competition and receive fresh ideas, thoughts and concepts that can be applied in Visalia and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley,” said Betsy McGovern, Program Director of Real Estate Development. “There continues to be a huge demand for housing for farmworkers, and this is a unique opportunity to integrate decarbonization and climate resiliency through an equity lens.”

Competition entries will be juried by international experts including: Paul Torcellini, Principal Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Allison Williams, FAIA; AGWms_studio; Lance Collins, AIA, Director at Partner Energy; and Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, Cameron MacAllister Group.

To learn more, visit www.architectureatzero.com.

This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Edison under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Cosponsors include: Pacific Gas and Electric Company; San Diego Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Gas Company. Other sponsors include: the California Energy Commission, US Green Building Council Central California and the International Building Performance Simulation Association.

Roosevelt High School took on the Transportation Challenge set up by Fresno State and USGBC Central California this Spring and worked on the question: How can we get more students to bike to school? As students, we noticed that only a very small percentage of our staff and students ride their bike to school. While we set out to answer a larger, solution-based question, we realized we first needed to identify the barriers that prevent more people from cycling. 

We used our knowledge of Roosevelt’s surrounding geography and student body population to make predictions about what would impede students from biking to school. We thought about how traffic heavy the intersection at our school was, our own  hesitations with the safety of our neighborhoods and the safety of parked bikes at school. Some of our own members know first hand that people’s distance from school is a factor that stops many from biking to school; especially because a lot of us choose to come to Roosevelt because of the School of the Arts magnet program. Another one of our members shared that he didn’t know how to ride a bike; we hadn’t even discussed the most basic of obstacles: access to a bike itself and knowing how to ride in the first place. 

We brainstormed some solutions like working with local bike shops to pass out bikes and helmets, giving out alarms and locks for students that park their bikes at school, and calling on city government to expand bike lanes in our area. We recognized that while our solutions looked great, they were pretty big projects to take on. 

We needed to engage with our Roosevelt community. We figured the best way to start the conversation was with a survey. We sent it out to students and teachers, and the results gave us insight into what Roosevelt students' relationship is with biking.

The results of the survey indicated that almost half of the population has never ridden a bike, and almost 75% had never ridden a bike to school before. People pointed to distance, lack of protected space, and lack of access to bikes as the most common reasons for their lack of riding. 

Seeing as it was already the end of April, we knew as a group we didn’t have the time to solve these big-scale, long-term problems, but rather we needed to come up with something we could do now.

After some back-and-forth we came up with the idea of an after school Bike to School event for the Bike to School month of May where we would bike from the neighborhood across the way all the way to City Hall and we would integrate some of our previous solutions ideas like bike alarms, locks, lights, and helmets as give-aways. We got helmets donated from BPAC to give out to those in need of one, and lights from Rubbersole. 

On the day of the Bike to School event, we set up a helmet decorating and light attachment station. A crowd of teachers, students, and community members much larger than we expected formed and our teacher called us onstage to speak. After some nervous shifting and awkward silence due to stage fright, our members spoke on the theme “Why We Ride.” They mentioned the nostalgia biking holds as it was something they did to bond with family members or how good it feels to ride freely with the wind blowing through your hair.

Finally, the time to ride came. We jumped on our bikes and started on route to the neighborhood across from our school. We listened to the music playing from my teacher’s speaker and we finally got to have conversations with people we only ever saw through a Zoom screen.

We continued the route into busier streets, and even got to use a new protected bike lane on our way to city hall. As a vulnerable cyclist, you are highly aware of the spaces around you, and we noticed when cars felt a little too close to us or when barricades between the streets and bike lanes made us feel so much safer. 

This experience taught us how valuable time outdoors is and how valuable it is to create events (and streets!) that bring people together. This is why bike riding proved to not only be impactful as a mode of climate action, but as a source of happiness and communal peace. 

Thanks to our members, we work in our community to advance green buildings. With your support, we are able to advance green buildings and communities through advocacy, education, networking and soon, a hands-on green building project. 

We believe in transforming the built environment and that green buildings and communities should be for all, including communities in Central California. Because everybody deserves a built environment that is good for our health, creates healthy places, reduces the impact on our natural resources and is part of the solution to address climate change.

Join us to show the support for green buildings in our region and help increase the capacities of our local chapter. We strive to make membership affordable. For $75 or the cost of a nice night in or out, general members show their leadership in the green building world and support our programming all year long. We offer reduced rates for students ($25) and emerging professionals ($35), and supporting memberships for those that want to increase their support for our chapter at $150.

Thanks to our newest member Alyssa from Gd.Stwrd, all new members that sign up until Earth Day will receive 25% OFF when shopping at her local zero waste store, www.gdstwrd.com.

Sign up today to BECOME A MEMBER

Interested to join as company to demonstrate your support and expertise? Check out our partnership opportunities 

PRESS RELEASE

Fresno, CA March 1, 2021 — The US Green Building Council Central California (USGBC-CC) has received a grant from the San Joaquin River Conservancy (Conservancy)to start the planning and design process to enable public access and create an Indigenous and Environmental Resource Center at the Circle V property located at the San Joaquin River, just outside of Fresno in Madera County. USGBC-CC received final approval for this grant funding as part of the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Fund (Proposition 40) and the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Fund of 2006 (Proposition 84) from the Wildlife Conservation Board, which manages the Conservancy’s grant funds.

USGBC-CC in collaboration with the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival (AICLS), will be leading the public outreach process to adaptively reuse two buildings that are connected to a beautiful riparian and oak woodland along the river. AICLS will reach out to local tribes as tribal liaison for the project. 

This project will include educational opportunities for local Fresno State students by integrating different student learning opportunities and classes including Engineering, Construction Management, Interactive Multimedia and Business. The goal is to achieve LEED certification and create an innovative demonstration project for green buildings in our region. 

“Since 2007, our organization has been working to bring together professionals to learn from and inspire each other to build green buildings. We are excited to start the process to develop a green building to help provide hands-on learning opportunities and educate the wider community on the details and benefits of green buildings’, says Laura Gromis, Executive Director of USGBC-CC. “Working with the local tribes, we are excited to connect the ancient values of sustainability of indigenous cultures with modern ways to create a sustainable built environment”, she adds.

“This is a unique opportunity to provide indigenous language education resources while creating a center reflective of the local tribal stakeholders and increasing awareness of the indigenous languages and cultures along the river,” says Carly Tex, Executive Director of AICLS, “We are looking forward to working with USGBC-CC and to further our mission to support California Indigenous languages and cultures through this education project.”

John Shelton, Executive Director of the San Joaquin River Conservancy adds: “We are extremely excited to work with USGBC-CC, AICLS, and Fresno State on this project.  The San Joaquin River Parkway is a great resource that has significant value to all the communities of our region. In acknowledgment of the San Joaquin River’s importance to our region’s Native Americans, this project provides what I hope is the first of many opportunities for indigenous voices to be part of the team from the envisioning to the operations.”

About USGBC Central California

The US Green Building Council Central California is a 501c3 nonprofit organization located in Fresno, CA with the mission to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC-CC is focused on education, networking, and advocacy to advance its mission and is a partner of the City of Fresno in its Transform Fresno project focused on creating transformative climate communities.

About Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival

The Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival is an all-Native run and led non-profit organization with the mission to foster the restoration and revival of indigenous California languages so they may be retained as a permanent part of the living cultures of native California.  We do this through advocacy, education, and training of speakers and learning, identifying and using indigenous languages resource materials, implementation of linguistic information and tools, creating learning program models and language restoration materials, maintaining master and apprentice language teams and using modern technology for language documentation and restoration.

About San Joaquin River Conservancy

The San Joaquin River Conservancy was created by the California Legislature in 1992 to develop and manage the San Joaquin River Parkway, a planned 22-mile natural area and wildlife corridor extending from Friant Dam to State Route 99, with interconnected trails, recreation, and outdoor education features. The Conservancy is committed to protecting the river’s environmental, wildlife, cultural, scientific, agricultural, educational, recreational, scenic, and flood conveyance resources, which are of regional and statewide significance.

……

As it moves toward a 100% electric fleet, the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency is conducting an electrical grid study to examine possible grid enhancements to meet the needs of rural Fresno County.  Potential benefits go far beyond increased access to reliable transportation services and include reliability of the electric grid, economic development, and carbon emission and air pollution reductions.

Want to learn more about the Electrical Grid Study, the trend toward electrification and what it could mean to rural Fresno County?

Check out the FCRTA virtual GRID study room

Virtually explore and learn about the grid, electric vehicles and how electrification can impact rural Fresno County.

USGBC Central California is now soliciting nominations for election to the Board of Directors.  This position provides the opportunity to help advance green buildings and communities in Central California and become part of the leadership team of a growing organization.  The Chapter is seeking Directors who are committed to increasing sustainability in our built environment, passionate about making an impact in our community, experienced in leading volunteer organizations, and willing to commit leadership to helping the Chapter serve our community.  Find out more about board membership in our election fact sheet.

ELECTION SCHEDULE

          

Filing Period:                                               September 9 – November 19, 2020

Deadline to Submit Application*:              November 19, 2020

Candidate Notification:                             November 20, 2020

Elections:                                                    November 30 – December 18, 2020  

New Board Members Seated:                   January 1, 2021

Who can Vote:                                           All current paid Chapter members*

 *To join the Chapter and be eligible to apply and vote, click here: www.usgbccc.org/Become-A-Member and follow instructions on Registering for a Chapter Membership link below. 

TERMS & MEETINGS

The term of office is for two years from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.  Terms of board members are staggered so that half the Board changes each year.  Board meetings occur on a monthly basis, generally in person but currently virtually due to COVID19.

             

QUALIFICATIONS

Given the Chapter’s expanding scope of programs and local influence, a number of qualifications are particularly important.  The Board seeks diversity and leadership qualities to assure strong and dynamic local leadership. 

·        Candidates will be selected to provide a mix of expertise, potential contributions, leadership, business experience, diversity, and continuity. 

·        Candidate must sign the USGBC-CC Board of Directors commitment form.

·        Candidates are expected to be USGBC-CC members, new member applicants are accepted.

·        We are currently looking for candidates from the following fields: architecture, banking, law, construction, real estate development, engineering, government, interior design, landscaping, transportation, marketing.

GENERAL INFORMATION                         

·        Nominations will be accepted for seven (7) board seats.

·        You may nominate yourself by completing the application form or nominate another member by asking them to do so.

·        Bios and applications will be sent out with the ballots.  Voting instructions will be sent to all members prior to commencement of voting. 

·        Submit the completed Board of Director Application by the deadline above.  Submission of the Board of Director Commitment implies agreement. 

·        Direct all questions to connect@usgbccc.org

Officers

Sheila Hakimipour

Interim President

Vacant

Vice President

Mayuko Russell

Treasurer

Glenn Terpstra

Secretary

Directors

Andres Jauregui

Charlie Harris

David Brenner

Laura Huisinga

Executive Director

Laura Gromis

US Green Building Council Central California

Water, Energy and Technology Center

2911 E. Barstow Ave., M/S OF 144

Fresno, CA 93740

www.usgbccc.org