Seattle has experienced dramatic growth over the past decade, becoming one of the fastest-growing large cities in the United States. While this growth presents economic opportunities, rapidly increasing rents and home prices have displaced low-income families to less expensive areas further from the city. The City has recognized that historically underrepresented households face heightened displacement risk and has adopted a multi-pronged approach through the Office of Housing to help these families remain affordably in their communities, with homeownership emerging as a key strategy to reduce displacement risk by keeping housing costs low and predictable.
The FUSE Executive Fellow will design the Home Ownership as Preservation program using funds from a recently received Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant. The project will focus on three main deliverables: identifying a pipeline of buildings with strong conversion potential based on carefully developed criteria; designing and funding a program that equips local non-profits to organize tenants and assist them through the home purchase process; and creating guidance for property developers interested in rehabilitating properties for tenant ownership. Through deep stakeholder engagement with city partners, local non-profits like the Urban League and Washington Tenants Union, affordable housing owners, and individuals from diverse backgrounds at risk of displacement, this initiative will create a cohesive, replicable model for preserving communities through homeownership that can scale to market-rate buildings and adjust to new funding opportunities, making Seattle a more diverse, inclusive, and resilient city.