Grant Barbour

Grant is director of acquisitions at Build Inc. and in house legal counsel for ongoing transactions. Grant searches for properties that meet Build Inc.’s criteria for urban in-fill projects with historic or other unique attributes, researches the entitlement issues, and performs the economic analysis for each project. Grant is also active in public outreach with a variety of local community groups including the Housing Action Coalition, Central Waterfront Advisory Committee, etc.

Prior to joining Build Inc, Grant was a land use attorney focusing on complex transactions, both from a legal and business perspective. Grant’s specialty was forging win-win resolutions through in-depth negotiations with the stakeholders in complex real estate transactions, using a blend of business savvy and communication skills to bring the parties to embrace practical solutions at the negotiating table. Grant continues to volunteer for Marin County Legal Aid.

Grant’s family owned a large working ranch in Sonoma. This formed his love of the Western landscape and ecology, and his desire to conserve land but also provide a means through which landowners could become participants and stewards in their land. This interest led Grant to work for various non-profits, including the American Land Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land. As a project manager at the American Land Conservancy, Grant met with ranchers and landowners in the Western states to strategize how their lands could be saved from development. Often, Grant arranged complex land exchanges between ranchers and federal agencies, primarily the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.