HUD Officials Visit Seattle as Part of National “Road to Innovation” Tour

HUD No. 24-108 HUD Public Affairs (202) 708-0685

FOR RELEASE Thursday May 9, 2024

HUD Officials Visit Seattle as Part of National "Road to Innovation" Tour

SEATTLE - This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene and Northwest Regional Administrator Andrew Lofton toured innovative affordable housing developments as part of HUD's national "Road to Innovation" Tour leading up to the 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase in Washington, DC next month.

"As the Road to Innovation Tour continues, we're learning that not only are Housing Authorities at the forefront of incorporating new building technologies to deepen affordability, promote energy efficiency, and provide homes that meet resident needs, but they are also innovating in financing, and resident engagement strategies," said Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. "It isn't just technology that is driving progress, but the people coming together to innovate on solutions. The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace is a great example of this, having its roots in robust resident engagement and community-led design, and today, leading the nation in implementing energy efficiency technologies that result in cost-savings for residents."

The "Road to Innovation" tours will culminate in Washington, DC with HUD's 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase slated for June 7th through 9th on the National Mall. The showcase is a public event during which leading homebuilders, technologists, and designers will show their cutting-edge approaches to increase housing supply, lower construction costs, increase energy efficiency, and reduce housing expenses.

"The innovation - and community engagement and involvement that comes along with that innovation - is something that stands out in Seattle," said HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Andrew Lofton. "I'm proud to showcase our good work as a national example that can be replicated across the country."

HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene (middle) and Northwest Regional Administrator Andrew Lofton (left) tour the solar rooftop of Sawara at Yesler with Seattle Housing Authority Executive Director Rod Brandon (right)

The first stop on the tour was to Seattle Housing Authority's Yesler community to visit Sawara, a new residential building nearing completion that has 69 HUD-funded vouchers covering over half of its 114 apartments. Sawara is an all-electric building that is part of Seattle City Light's Exemplary Buildings Program that models energy-efficient, healthy, and durable housing. SHA's sustainable building features at Yesler include photovoltaic rooftop panels, LED lighting, energy saving appliances, low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads, double and triple-pane windows that reduce noise and conserve heat, individual energy-recovery heating and ventilation in each unit, solar hot water preheat and ultra-efficient CO2 heat pump systems, among many other amenities that make the community environmentally friendly and sustainable.

"Environmental stewardship is one of the Seattle Housing Authority's core values," said Seattle Housing Authority Executive Director Rod Brandon. "We were one of the first housing authorities in the country to sign on to the U.S. Department of Energy Better Climate Challenge with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by 50 and 15 percent respectively by 2032, and we incorporate sustainability in everything we do from building and redeveloping housing to helping our tenants conserve. Examples in housing include rooftop solar panels that generate renewable energy, capture systems that enable diversion and reuse of rainwater, energy recovery ventilation in units, energy saving appliances and building systems, and other innovations that are leading to measurable progress on reducing our impact on the environment."

SLI's Chairman and CEO Arlan Collins (left) gives HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene, Northwest Regional Administrator Andrew Lofton, and Senior Advisor for Innovation Tanaya Srini a tour of 303 Battery.

The second tour location was to Sustainable Living Innovations' (SLI) 303 Battery apartment building. This 15-story, 112-unit building located in the Belltown neighborhood of downtown Seattle has been pre-certified by the International Living Institute as the first Net Zero Energy high rise multifamily tower in the world; it's a 100% electric building and uses no fossil fuels. The building was constructed using approximately 960 panels assembled in SLI's Tacoma facility, which were inserted into a steel exoskeleton that supports the high rise structure. Advanced technologies in the building including solar PV, lithium-ion battery storage, greywater treatment, waste heat recovery, and low voltage electrical systems.

HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Solomon Greene (right), Northwest Regional Administrator Andrew Lofton (left), and Senior Advisor for Innovation Tanaya Srini (middle) tour Burbridge Place.

The last tour was at Burbridge Place, a 5-story building with 124 studio apartments for the non-profit Downtown Emergency Service Center or DESC, a leading homeless service provider in Seattle. The building is Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) with $1.8 million in initial HUD Continuum of Care funding with an additional $1.9 million for the coming year. Burbridge Place showcases structural steel panel technology and innovative environmentally sustainable features. It is the first PSH building in the world built using a new patented panelized construction process, with rooftop solar, waste heat recovery, ultra-efficient AC and integrated technology similar to "smart home" design.

"We continue to pioneer Housing First and what that means, especially from a building technologies standpoint," said DESC Facilities, Asset Management, and Property Development Director Sondra Nielsen.