Fact Sheet

David Brower

The David Brower Center was inspired by the life of David Brower, considered by many to be the father of the modern environmental movement
David Brower was the first executive director of the Sierra Club and founded several organizations including Earth Island Institute, League of Conservation
Voters, and Friends of the Earth
David Brower passed away in 2000

Total building area: 50,000 square feet of office, cultural, restaurant and common space
Ground floor: 175-seat Richard and Rhoda Goldman Theater; art gallery; meeting rooms; organic restaurant/café
The theater and meeting rooms will be available for rent by the public at affordable rates
Upper three floors: 30,000 square feet of office space available to qualified environmental and environmental justice organizations and select socially responsible business
Among the first buildings in the Bay Area to receive the highest LEED green building rating. For an explanation of LEED criteria, click here. For more on the green features of the Center, click here.
Key features: photovoltaic panels (solar power), natural light throughout building, non-toxic interior materials, second-floor courtyard; showers and bicycle storage
Tentative move-in date: January 2009
Anchor tenants: The Center for Ecoliteracy and Earth Island Institute
Waiting list of 30 tenant organizations, including the California League of Conservation Voters, International Rivers Network and Build It Green
For more on the tenant benefits that are attracting organizations to the Center, click here.

Designed to support the nonprofit field and the environmental and progressive communities
Will magnify and promote the work of tenants and other organizations, as well as host public programs such as speakers, author appearances, and films
Board of Directors includes leaders from the environmental movement

The site was chosen for its central location near public transportation, UC Berkeley, downtown businesses and cultural venues, and schools.
An underground parking garage, built by The David Brower Center, will replace the surface parking lot. Parking will continue to be owned by – and generate revenue for – the City of Berkley.
The project is being built in partnership with Oxford Plaza, 97 units of affordable housing, and is an integral part of downtown Berkeley’s revitalization

The total cost of the David Brower Center is $29 million, financed entirely by contributions, loans, and New Market Tax Credits

Tom Bates, Mayor of the City of Berkeley: “The combination of world-class research at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the long legacy of environmental advocacy from Berkeley residents make this city a natural home for this country’s environmental leadership. The David Brower Center will provide an international center for environmental research, advocacy, and innovation. I can think of no more appropriate place in the world for this work to take place."
Paul Hawken, environmentalist and author: “The building of the Brower Center represents a further coming of age of a worldwide movement. David was a monument, and hardly needs one. But what he did want was the deepening and strengthening of the institutions that lead the way towards conservation,
preservation and restoration.”
David Gottfried, founder of the U.S. Green Building Council and President of WorldBuild: “The David Brower Center will be a landmark green development for the City of Berkeley. Green design follows an integrated design process, and excels in its energy, water, materials, and waste efficiency, occupant health and comfort, generation of energy, and its close proximity to public transit.”
Alice Waters, chef and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant: “The David Brower Center will create an exciting and dynamic new downtown Berkeley destination that will be the focus on the environmental movement locally and internationally.”