Urban Design Center

Griffin Wright, sole proprietor of Griffin Wright Consulting, is familiar with many of the transportation grants that the CRA/LA pursues, as well as its environmental grants.  As a subconsultant to Vega Cayetano, Pe, Inc., Griffin Wright Consulting has coordinated the grant administration process for over $19 million in federal, state and local transportation grants for the CRA/LA. Mr. Wright has also coordinated various grant administration tasks with Metro and Caltrans for another $15 million in federal transportation grants for CRA/LA. The firm has also assisted in the preparation of EPA brownfields grants for the CRA/LA.  Mr. Wright is currently serving as a subconsultant to Urban Design Center assisting with contract compliance, fund development and budgeting for the CRA/LA Crenshaw Mid City Corridors Prop 1C project.

In early 2009, the CRA/LA Engineering Department and the Downtown Region asked Mr. Wright, as a subconsultant to Vega Cayetano, PE, Inc., to assist in applying for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the Broadway Sidewalk Reconstruction project. Mr. Wright completed the following tasks in the application process for these ARRA funds:

• Met with staff at the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Services and at Caltrans regarding federal NEPA requirements for the project.
• Made site visits to project area to collect data for Caltrans Preliminary Environmental Survey and Field Review Forms, including street parking data and site photos.
• Prepared various maps, including general site map, location of underground leaking storage tanks in the area, location of nearby water bodies, among others.
• Gathered and analyzed census data in the project area as required for the grant. This included minority status, and low-income status of the communities in the project area.
• Contacted and met with building and business owners on Broadway in order to receive their support for the project and obtain permits to enter and construct on their property.
• Completed Caltrans Preliminary Environmental Survey and Field Review Forms and submitted them to Caltrans as required for ARRA funds awards.

Griffin completed all these tasks and submitted the environmental forms to Caltrans in a timely manner, allowing the CRA/LA to move forward in the competition for ARRA funds.  In early 2009, Dan Weissman of CRA/LA asked Mr. Wright, as a subconsultant to Vega Cayetano, PE, Inc., to write portions of an application for an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant Application for the Washington/Soto Job Creation Site. Mr. Wright completed the following tasks in the application process for these funds.  Mr. Wright met with CRA/LA staff who had worked on earlier stages of the environmental work on this project, analyzed project documents including Phase I and II reports and completed the grant application forms and provided to Dan Weissman.