What We Do

Services offered by CDC

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The majority of assistance provided by the Community Design Center (CDC) is architectural and engineering services to nonprofit groups who’s projects serve the community at large. Sometimes we provide our service to public entities where we provide our resources to enhance the public realm.

Early design support from the CDC leads to a complete projects. Unfortunately, funding for preliminary design services is hard to find. The Design Center fills this gap by providing conceptual only architectural and engineering services to community groups and nonprofit organizations early in the project development process.

Good Samaritan - Lenoir City, TN

Some of our assistance might be:

  • Introducing the client to Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)
  • Introducing the client to sustainable design
  • Anticipating project implementation costs
  • Evaluating existing building conditions
  • Identifying health, safety, and accessibility issues
  • Establishing project implementation priorities
  • Understanding space needs of the client and transforming those needs into a building design
  • Exploring design options
  • Containing project costs through design alternatives
  • Graphically illustrate how the project will look when construction or renovation is complete

We do provide other services on a smaller scale, including landscape design, and on special occasional fiscal management services for groups without an Internal Revenue Service non-profit determination letter.

Products provided through the Design Center are limited to conceptual design only and cannot be used for construction or permitting purposes.

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Requesting Assistance:

Qualifications for Assistance

Since inception of the Design Center it has never refused services to any organization that meets the qualifying criteria to receive service.

In order to qualify, the requesting organization must:

  1. Be a not for profit group or organization, 501 (c) (3) IRS determination is not a requirement.
  2. The project must be for the benefit of the community, not solely for the benefit of their members.
  3. The group does not have the financial or other resources to acquire the requested services.
  4. The group must be able to demonstrate the commitment and ability to pursue the project through to completion.
  5. Control of the property or documented permission to implement the project by the property owner.

Applications for assistance are accepted at anytime, reviewed by the DesignWorks committee monthly and referred to the Board of Directors for action at its monthly meeting.

To discuss an opportunity for assistance contact the Center’s main office at (865) 525-9945.