The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) honored the Seattle Housing Authority with four Awards of Merit. NAHRO’s Community Innovation program provides national recognition to NAHRO members and informs the public of best practices in housing and community development while creating a resource bank of information on significant, innovative activities performed by housing and redevelopment agencies and community development departments.

SHA received two awards in NAHRO’s Administrative Innovation category, which recognizes programs that improve the efficiency or effectiveness of administrative operations or the general functioning of the agency:

• Security Incident Report (Housing Operations department): An innovative data-driven tool that integrates Seattle Fire Department emergency response data with SHA’s internal incident reports to proactively identify safety risks, track emergency response trends and improve resident security. By leveraging real-time data, SHA enhances emergency preparedness, optimizes maintenance responses and provides targeted resident services.
• Transitioning from UPCS-NSPIRE (Asset Management department):  SHA’s transition from Uniform Physical Condition Standards to National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate inspection standards required adaptation to new regulations and adjustments to its internal inspection approach. By leveraging real-time inspection data, SHA refined preparation strategies, ensuring accuracy and compliance. These innovations enhanced inspection precision, tenant safety and agency-wide performance, demonstrating excellence in housing quality.

SHA’s third award was in NAHRO’s Resident and Client Services category, which recognizes programs that enhance the lives of residents and clients: 

• SHA Transit Pass Program (Asset Management department): SHA partnered with the City of Seattle to provide free unlimited-use ORCA transit cards to all residents living in SHA-owned and managed housing through 2026. This pairing between an affordable housing program and an accessible public transit initiative is the first of its kind at this comprehensive scale in the United States. In 2024, program participants took 1,256,261 rides, helping residents save an estimated $2.1 million on transportation costs. 

SHA’s fourth award was in the Affordable Housing category, which recognizes affordable housing produced in an innovative manner:

• Salish Landing (Development department): SHA's redevelopment in the West Seattle neighborhood has 82 units spread across various levels of affordability. Built on the former site of the Lam Bow Apartments, which were destroyed by fire in 2016, former residents who were relocated elsewhere after the fire were invited to return to the new five-story building. This 100 percent affordable housing property includes 31 more units than were previously on the site and features fourteen 3-bedroom units designed to accommodate larger families. A focus on sustainability and energy efficiency played a significant role in the development and construction of the project.