Office to Residential: Call for Ideas

Competition Winners Announced

Thank you to all who submitted their ideas for this competition, and to those who attended our celebration events on June 6 and June 14, 2023. We are proud to share all of the submissions in this document.

For more information about the winning submissions, please visit our Daily Plan It blog.

Seattle Design Festival 2023

Our Director Rico Quirindongo hosted a panel discussion with the winners of our Office to Residential competition at Seattle Design Fest 2023, alongside our principle urban planner Lyle Bicknell.

Watch the entire discussion on Seattle Design Fest's Virtual Mainstage.

About Our Call for Ideas

Downtowns across the nation look different today than they did before Covid. How can the City of Seattle provide a vision to the nation for what the future of Downtown will look like and how we will get there?

Share your vision for the future of a Seattle Downtown that is more balanced between residential uses and civic and office uses than today. We seek ideas to create vibrant neighborhoods where people live, work, shop, and play. This call for ideas explores the potential for conversion of office spaces to residential uses and adding activated ground floor uses.

Honorariums and Future Action

The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) will offer recognition to the top three scoring submissions with honorariums in the following amounts:

  • Highest scoring submittal: $10,000
  • Next two highest scoring submittals: $7,500.

In addition, all entries meeting the minimum required contents, as determined by OPCD in its discretion, may receive a nominal honorarium in recognition of the time and expertise reflected in the submissions. Determination of amounts will be made after the submission deadline and is subject to number of submissions and budget availability. Applicants are not guaranteed any compensation and all costs associated with the submittal are the responsibility of the applicant.

All submittals meeting the requirements for this call for ideas will be included in multiple exhibitions and an electronic gallery.

The submitters retain ownership of the IP rights, but by submitting the proposal, the submitter is granting the City an unlimited and non-revocable license to use the materials, including the right to post the materials to the City's web-site and make them publicly available.

The City may use the submittals to develop future policies, code changes, or funding opportunities available to all. It would be inconsistent with over-all public contract procurement policies to use this call for ideas to award the submitters some unspecified future individual support.

Planning and Community Development

Rico Quirindongo, Director
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 94788, Seattle, WA, 98124-7088
Phone: (206) 386-1010
opcd@seattle.gov

The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) develops policies and plans for an equitable and sustainable future. We partner with neighborhoods, businesses, agencies and others to bring about positive change and coordinate investments for our Seattle communities.