We had a fantastic week at the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Fall Meeting in San Francisco!
Our Housing Development Manager, Louisa, joined Fiona Ruddy from Mercy Housing—our codeveloper on The Kelsey Civic Center—to speak at ULI’s Lewis Center Sustainability Forum. They shared how The Kelsey Civic Center’s accessibility and sustainability goals work together, and how housing options for people with disabilities are still far too limited. Their presentation highlighted how disability-forward housing can meet these unmet needs while also supporting San Francisco’s climate goals. As they reminded the audience, development teams don’t need to choose between sustainability and other project priorities—they can achieve both.
The Kelsey Civic Center was also featured on the Fall Meeting’s community tours. Louisa led attendees through the building, pointing out disability-forward elements from the Inclusive Design Standards that make the community affordable, accessible, and inclusive to people with and without disabilities.
Another major highlight was participating in the case study presentations as a winner of the 2025 Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing! The Kelsey Ayer Station was honored along with Sendero Verde and The Aster. We’re proud to be recognized with other teams that show that housing can be deeply affordable, innovative, and inclusive. During the session, our co-founder and CEO, Micaela, reflected on key moments from the development of The Kelsey Ayer Station—from financing and inclusive design to working with partners and sharing open-source tools that support others to build disability-forward housing in their own communities.
Overall, the week was full of learning, collaboration, and connection. ULI’s Fall Meeting reinforced that we can create a better housing future for everyone.
