Community Development workshops

Community Development Lunch and Learn series sponsored by Communities of Opportunity with partners, the City of Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative and the National Development Council. Each month between April and December 2021, we are alternating between deep dives on specific topics and issues of community development, where participants can ask questions and discuss their projects with peers and community development experts.

To watch previous sessions, click on the featured video links below:

Introduction to Development Partnerships

When might we need a development partnership? What kinds of developer partners are there?

What kinds of partnership agreements are there? How might we build more resilient, transformative partnerships?

Development projects for complex Partnerships

May’s Community Development Lunch & Learn focused on the experiences of a community real estate developer and affordable housing and commercial property management Preservation & Development Authority (PDA).

Featuring guest speaker: Maiko Winkler-Chin, Executive Director - Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation & Development Authority (SCIDpda)

(Note: Recording begins mid-presentation - apologies!)

Design & development

July’s Community Development Lunch and Learn focused on development process and roles - including the role of designers, architects and contractors and when the best timing may be to bring them on to a project.

Featuring guest speaker: Darren Medina (currently providing Technical assistance and guidance to small businesses through COO’s Commercial Affordability Pilot Project)

White Center Community “HUB”

August’s Community Development Lunch and Learn focused on the process and learnings from the White Center Community “HUB” development.

Featuring guest speakers: Sili Savusa (Executive Director, White Center Community Development Association) and Aaron Garcia (HUB Program Manager, White Center Community Development Association)

Expertise & Experiences from ASDEV

Featuring guest speakers Leslie Byrd and Iyibo Jack from Alpha Sharp Development Partners. Brian Surratt, executive director of Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) Puget Sound, interviews Leslie Byrd and Iyibo Jack from Alpha Sharp Development Partners (ASDEV).

Alpha Sharp is a Black-owned real estate development firm that focuses on building affordable workforce housing in Tacoma and Seattle. The firm does real estate acquisition, design, permitting, construction, and asset management with the aim of having a positive community impact and addressing the region's housing deficit.

Tax Credits & Financing

Featuring guest speaker, Chuck Depew, West Team Leader for the National Development Council, a national non-profit that provides economic and community development assistance to local governments.

For more than 30 years NDC has worked with local jurisdictions on multiple housing and economic development efforts. Chuck provides technical assistance in project finance, development negotiation and housing finance to communities throughout the Northwest, including Utah and Wyoming and Northern California. In addition, he teaches commercial and housing real estate finance nationwide in NDC’s leading training program.