This editorial, published in the Seattle Times, was written by Ryan Donohue, Chief Advocacy Officer at Habitat SKKC.
The Sept. 8 op-ed, “Here’s how WA could allow more affordable housing to be built,” makes important points about streamlining permitting and removing barriers to middle housing construction. As someone who has worked in affordable housing development for over a decade, I share the urgency about our housing crisis and agree that we need “equal parts courage, brains and heart” to solve it.
However, I respectfully disagree with the characterization of Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability program as simply a “construction tax” that reduces housing production. The reality is more nuanced, and the solution requires us to think systemically about how we create housing for everyone, not just those who can afford market-rate homes.
The Master Builders Association report cited in the op-ed focuses narrowly on town home permits while missing critical context. A comprehensive analysis by BERK Consulting, commissioned by the city of Seattle, found that MHA is not the primary driver of declining town home construction. Instead, the report identified broader market factors, including rising construction costs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and changing interest rates, as the main culprits behind reduced housing production across the region.
Read the full piece in The Seattle Times to explore his perspective on our region’s housing challenges.
On Thursday, April 10, 2025, Habitat SKKC hosted From Dream to Reality: Advancing Equity in Homeownership, the premiere event of our month-long awareness campaign Home is the Key (read more on our blog).
KIRO TV covered the event in their story “New affordable housing project in Seattle announced, dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.” Watch the clip here.
The Associated Press interviewed the event’s featured guest, Dr. Bernice King, leading up to the event. Read the article here.
A full recording of the event is available for viewing here.
Congratulations to Habitat SKKC CEO Brett D’Antonio, who has been selected by the Puget Sound Business Journal for their annual 40 Under 40 awards for 2025! Each year, PSBJ selects business leaders under the age of 40 who are “making an impact in business, philanthropy, and in their communities.” The 40 Under 40 program has been a highlight of PSBJ for nearly three decades.
PSBJ evaluates nominees based on their professional accomplishments, contributions to their organizations, community involvement, and leadership. To learn more and view the full list of 2025 40 Under 40 award winners, click here.
Here is a roundup of all the local TV media coverage from our recent Jimmy Carter Memorial event, held on Thursday, January 9th, at the Seattle Art Museum’s PACCAR Pavilion, to honor the life of President Jimmy Carter.
We are deeply grateful to all the community members who attended to pay tribute to President Carter’s life.
It is with heavy hearts and deep gratitude that we remember former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away yesterday at the age of 100. Together with his wife, Rosalynn, President Carter led by example, working alongside volunteers to build homes and strengthen communities through the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. His unwavering dedication and advocacy transformed the lives of thousands.
“We join with others around the world in mourning the passing of President Jimmy Carter. The legacy he leaves behind in the Habitat homes he and Mrs. Carter built, and in the progress achieved in the fight for affordable housing and home ownership, will endure for generations to come. May President Carter’s life of service and his spirit of generosity continue to be an example to us all.” —Brett D’Antonio, CEO, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties
After leaving the White House, the Carters sought out meaningful ways to continue their commitment to social justice and basic human rights. They first volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Georgia, near their home of Plains, in March 1984. Later that same year, the Carters joined Habitat volunteers in New York City’s Lower East Side to renovate an abandoned building in partnership with families in need of affordable housing. That trip marked Habitat for Humanity’s first Jimmy Carter Work Project (later renamed the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project). Each year since then until 2019, the Carters volunteered with Habitat to build or improve houses alongside homeowners in communities across the United States and around the world. President Carter also served as a member of the organization’s board of directors from 1984-1987.
“We are deeply saddened by President Carter’s passing, and our prayers are with the rest of the Carter family,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “President and Mrs. Carter began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity near their home in southwest Georgia, soon bringing worldwide attention to the need for decent and affordable housing. We are grateful for the incredible impact the Carters have had on Habitat and on the families who have benefited from their shining example. The Carters put Habitat for Humanity on the map, and their legacy will live on in every family we serve around the world.”
“I think every human being has within himself or herself a desire to reach out to others and to share some of our blessings with those who are in need,” President Carter has said. “What’s opened up that avenue for me and my wife and hundreds and thousands of others is Habitat for Humanity. It makes it easy for us to reach out and work side by side with the homeowner who’s never had a decent house, perhaps. I haven’t been on a Habitat project that I wasn’t thrilled and inspired, and wept.”
Over the last three decades, the Carter Work Project has touched lives around the world by inspiring more than 108,000 volunteers across the U.S. and in 14 countries to build, renovate and repair 4,447 Habitat homes. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has served more than 62 million people around the world.
In 2016, Habitat named President and Mrs. Carter as the inaugural Habitat Humanitarians for their extraordinary dedication to service in alignment with Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Habitat SKKC will commemorate President Carter’s life of service with local observances. Details will be shared shortly.
