Seattle’s Innovation for Unlocking Homeownership

Join Just Communities for a live conversation on how PAD is redefining land development by centering homeowners, preventing displacement, and creating pathways to long-term wealth building.

Overview

Homeownership has long been one of the primary ways families build stability and generational wealth. Yet for many homeowners, especially lower-income and legacy homeowners, the barriers to improving or expanding their property are financial, technical, and structural.

The Partnership for ADU Development (PAD) is a City of Seattle pilot program designed to address those barriers directly. 

Through a co-development model using ground leases, PAD enables homeowners to partner with a mission-driven developer to build accessory dwelling units or middle housing on their property. 

What You Will Learn

Participants will explore:

• How homeownership-led development can prevent displacement
• How ADUs and middle housing can support wealth building for homeowners
• How co-development and ground lease models work in practice
• What can cities do to remove barriers to equitable development

About the Speaker  

Rico Quirindongo, AIA, is the Director of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development, where he leads long-range planning and policy to support equitable growth, housing access, and inclusive land use across the city.