"Congratulations Larry. Your service made this award possible."

~ Don Stump, CEO of Christian Church Homes, regarding Sierra Meadows earning LEED Gold Certification.

SIERRA MEADOWS, Visalia, CA

In 2008, the original program for Sierra Meadows called for a larger building with state-of-the-art passive heating, cooling, and daylighting systems to be funded by a HUD 202 grant and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Shortly after gaining planning approval and with a contractor’s estimate showing the project on-budget, the collapsing market in tax credits threatened the entire project. A 10% reduction in construction cost was needed. Working under an extremely tight deadline, and knowing that it would be impossible to cut 10% from the existing program without seriously impacting livability and durability, MA responded with a major revision, thoughtfully reducing building size while preserving significant aspects of the passive systems. Eventually, the project bid out an additional $500,000 under the revised budget, which allowed the Developer to abandon the unfavorable tax credits altogether.

Despite the very low budget, the project is 31% better than Title 24 energy requirements, has a Green Point Rating of 134, and is LEED Gold certified. Please see our page on “Environmental Responsibility” for more information about Sierra Meadows’ green building design. As further testament to Mayers Architecture’s commitment to environmental responsibility, the developer never intended to go for LEED certification, but asked MA to research the possibility AFTER construction had started. Only $8,000 in change orders were needed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Program: 43 units, affordable, senior independent living, with community room, offices, service spaces, and landscaped grounds on a 2.6 acre site.
Construction Type: 2 story wood frame on slab-on-grade foundation.
Funding: HUD 202, augmented with some public and private local funding.
Client: Christian Church Homes.
Completed: March, 2011
Award: LEED Gold Certified, Green Point Rated (134 Points), funding from the California Multifamily New Homes program.