Scalable Housing Infill Funding Toolkit
THE SHIFT INITIATIVE is a pilot to fundamentally reimagine affordable housing development, building homes for lower income households earning 60-80% of Area Median Income through efficient architectural solutions, streamlined approvals, and simplified public investment. The SHIFT initiative is designed to pioneer the production of affordable housing through standardized, prepermitted designs and streamlined development processes.
Alameda County HCD recently concluded the SHIFT Design RFP, selecting Inspired ADUs to serve as the Program Design Partner. Inspired ADUs, an Oakland based firm, has been chosen to provide the designs. Inspired ADUs has extensive experience building affordable housing in Oakland, Santa Clara, Novato, Berkeley and other cities across Northern California. The firm specializes in small-lot infill development with a special focus on using changes in State law to enable streamlined small and middle sized development. Their proposal reflected the firm’s strong design approach, wide portfolio of completed infill projects, and clear alignment with the goals of the SHIFT program.
Inspired ADUs will work closely with Alameda County HCD and local planning departments over a 36-month period to refine designs, navigate pre-permitting processes, and support the development of up to 50 affordable units in the pilot’s second phase. The partnership is designed to generate critical insights about program structure, subsidy requirements, and scalability that will inform future affordable housing initiatives. Inspired ADUs extensive experience building infill projects across Northern California will be invaluable to ensuring the SHIFT toolkit helps delivers streamlined, cost-effective projects.
Read the Press Release here.
PRESS COVERAGE OF SHIFT:
Alameda County Seeks to Dismantle Barriers to Building Affordable Housing – NBC Bay Area
Alameda County rolls out program to cut red tape from affordable housing development – Bay City News Group
Alameda County Launches Groundbreaking SHIFT Initiative to Transform Affordable Housing Production – AIA, East Bay Chapter
HOW SHIFT WORKS: The Toolkit in SHIFT will provide a variety of methods to reduce cost, speed up development, and ensure infill development is possible for projects that receive County funds as well as private market-rate projects at a similar scale.
The toolkit will include:
- Pre-permitted plans that eliminate months of approval processes
- Strategic use of recent state legislation including SB 9 and SB 4 to
unlock previously restricted parcels - Open-source approach making all designs publicly available to accelerate broader
adoption - Simplified funding through a single-source, non-competitive subsidy model
All pre-permitted designs developed through the program will be made publicly available, creating a valuable resource for developers, municipalities, and housing advocates throughout California.
Phase 1: October 2025-Early 2026
In October 2025, the SHIFT RFP sought qualified architecture firms to develop residential design proposals optimized for small-scale developments on irregular infill lots throughout Alameda County. After selection of a firm, plans will be taken through pre-approval for use by future SHIFT developers and further tools will be developed.
Phase 2: Early 2026-2027
After program materials are finalized, HCD anticipates launching the first round of funding opportunities for SHIFT development in early to mid 2026. The pilot round of projects will include funding for 40-50 SHIFT units and include opportunities for developers of all sizes, nonprofit affordable housing managers, and architects.