(Image: The Easton Group)
Located at 1712 Summit Ave, the 1906-era 61-unit building has been serving as studio micro-apartments since its $4.5 million acquisition by the The Easton Group from Pioneer Human Services in 2024. Rents hovered around $799 a month, plus utilities.
Under its new plan, the building is being utilized as supportive shelter. On-site staff provide will provide intensive harm-reduction case management, room support, and exit coordination to guide residents off the streets and into housing, according to a recent job listing.
PDA, formerly known as the Public Defender Association, is a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to creating non-punitive, community-based alternatives to traditional criminal legal responses. Rather than developing or owning real estate, PDA focuses on diversion services, systems reform, and care coordination.
Ripples of the city’s increased spending on supportive housing and transition from eras of halfway houses and transitional apartments continue to be felt on Capitol Hill.
The largest project is planned for the 1700 block of Belmont Ave where the Downtown Emergency Service Center plans to eventually develop the parcels into a 120-unit permanent supportive housing facility. In the meantime, the land is being used to host Belmont Village, the neighborhood’s 31-tiny house village homeless shelter managed by the Low Income Housing Institute.
Capitol Hill’s Sharyn Grayson House, part of the county’s Health Through Housing program, is another example of recent supportive housing projects growing in the area.
The city and Mayor Katie Wilson continue to boost the approach. Kelli Larsen, the mayor’s new director of the Seattle Office of Housing played a key role in reauthorizing the Seattle Housing Levy and launching new funding initiatives via the JumpStart payroll tax for permanent supportive housing. The Office of Housing committed $27 million to Permanent Supportive Housing workforce wages at partners and contractors in its latest budget. Larsen, by the way, will appear in front of the Seattle City Council’s Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee Wednesday afternoon as part of her confirmation process.
Across Seattle, PDA is best known for administering LEAD (Let Everyone Advance with Dignity) and its pandemic-era expansion, CoLEAD. Operating across a small, rotating footprint of leased hotels and residential buildings, the organization has paired low-barrier shelter with behavioral health and legal navigation. Through its model, PDA has helped unsheltered individuals find housing stability without relying on prosecution or detention.
In Pioneer Square, PDA is coming off a successful push this summer to move people off the streets in the lead-up to the city’s World Cup matches. Officials say the push exceeded goals.
Hudson House will be integrated into PDA’s efforts as CoLEAD lodging including “work with Participants to reduce illicit activity that has a community impact” and “coordinating communal activities to cultivate a sense of belonging and encourage constructive social interaction between participants.”
According to PDA, the CoLEAD Lodging Agreement establishes terms for occupancy without requiring sobriety or criminal background checks. Residents agree to avoid violence, weapons, open flames, drug sales, and substance use in shared hallways. Rooms are subject to routine safety checks, and guest visits are restricted. Participants commit to meeting with case managers while staff use de-escalation and mediation rather than immediate eviction when conflicts or rule violations occur.
You can learn more at wearepda.org.
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