Addison on Fourth · Seattle, Washington · Chinatown-International District
Six Seattle Ordinances Turned Affordable Housing into an Unsafe, Unsustainable Place to Live — for Residents and Providers Alike.
And Now, We are Fighting Back.
GRE Downtowner LLC d/b/a Addison on Fourth v. City of Seattle · Court of Appeals No. 87886-7
Complaint filed June 24, 2024 · Dismissed at trial court February 2025 · Oral argument held at Washington Court of Appeals
GRE Downtowner is a RHAWA member. RHAWA has publicly supported this litigation since its filing, with Executive Director Sean Flynn speaking on the company's behalf at the launch of the case.
Built in 1911 as the New Richmond Hotel. Purchased and renovated in 2012 to provide 254 units of affordable housing for the next century. Safe, stable, and profitable through 2018. Then the ordinances started, and the building—and the community inside it—began to unravel.
The Addison on Fourth sits on the edge of Seattle's Chinatown-International District and Pioneer Square — a ten-story terracotta building with a century of history in the city's fabric. In 2012, GRE Downtowner purchased the aging property for $12.5 million and invested another $26.5 million to renovate it. The project qualified for the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which means the building is legally required to operate as affordable housing for decades. Rents are capped. The use is restricted. The economic model depends on predictable regulation — and the community inside it depends on a housing provider's ability to manage the building safely.
Both worked. From 2015 through 2018, the Addison ran the way affordable housing is supposed to: stable tenancy, a safe community, slim but positive margins, and residents who could quietly enjoy their homes. Rent collections averaged 93% of gross potential rent. Evictions were rare — 14 to 17 per year across 254 units. The property's long-term residents knew each other. The lobby was clean. People felt safe.
Then the City of Seattle Started Layering Ordinances
Between 2018 and 2022, Seattle passed six ordinances that—individually—would have been manageable. Combined, they fundamentally changed what it meant to live and operate in the Addison. They stripped the ability to screen new tenants. They created new categories of occupancy that bypass the lease entirely. They foreclosed eviction as a tool for months at a time, then for years.
The effects were not abstract. Reports of break-ins, drug use, and criminal activity rose sharply. Residents were threatened, assaulted, and extorted inside their own homes. Long-term tenants—people who had done nothing wrong—began leaving the building they had come to trust. Maintenance staff were assaulted for entering units they were asked to repair. The Seattle Police Department now requires a minimum of three officers to respond to any call at the property. Traditional security guards have refused to work there.
"When we began this renovation project in 2013, it was a great public-private partnership providing much-needed low-income housing units. But then the city started to change all the rules, and now the Addison, our residents, and the city are the ones who suffer."
- GEORGE PETRIE, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GOODMAN REAL ESTATE
The financial damage tells the same story in a different language. Rent collections fell from 93% of gross potential rent to 44.1%. Vacancy peaked at 44.85%. The Addison lost $2.6 million in 2023 alone, and cumulative losses since 2020 exceed $6 million. As of November 2023, GRE is in default on its mortgage.
The Constitutional Theory
GRE's complaint, filed in King County Superior Court on June 24, 2024, alleges two takings claims under Article I, Section 16 of the Washington State Constitution: a partial regulatory taking under the Penn Central framework, and a per se physical taking based on the deprivation of the right to exclude.
The physical taking argument tracks the same Supreme Court doctrine—Cedar Point, Loretto—that anchors RHAWA's other flagship case. The Fair Chance Housing Ordinance and the Roommate Ordinance, combined, strip the owner's ability to exclude unwanted occupants from the property. Non-tenants gain occupancy rights simply by residing with a tenant. The owner has no screening authority. The only remedy is eviction—a process the City's other ordinances have made slow, expensive, and often impossible.
"Our goal is to create the highest level of quality affordable and sustainable housing in downtown Seattle for our residents, but the city has placed so many restrictions on our ability to do that it is placing our residents at risk. We have no choice but to call attention to this matter in defense of our community members, hold the city accountable, and provide relief for our residents."
- GEORGE PETRIE, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GOODMAN REAL ESTATE
Where the Case Stands
In February 2025, the King County Superior Court dismissed GRE's lawsuit. The ruling relied heavily on Washington Supreme Court precedent in Gonzales v. Inslee, treating the ordinances as ordinary regulation of the landlord-tenant relationship rather than a taking.
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GRE and Stoel Rives appealed. In recent oral argument at the Washington Court of Appeals, counsel for GRE argued that the six ordinances "operated together to destroy the value of the Addison"—an argument grounded in the combined effect of overlapping regulatory regimes, not any single measure. The City argued that business losses do not convert routine regulation into a taking, and pushed for a three-year statute of limitations rather than the ten-year period that applies to direct appropriations.
No ruling has issued. The fight continues—and RHAWA will update this page at every material development.
THE REGULATORY STACK
Six Ordinances. One Compounding Effect.
Each of these ordinances was passed with a legitimate public policy goal. The legal question the Addison case raises is what happens when the cumulative burden of overlapping regulations—each individually defensible—destroys the economic viability of the regulated activity entirely.
2018 · ORDINANCE 125515
​Fair Chance Housing
Prohibits housing providers from considering criminal history when screening tenants. Removes the industry's primary screening tool for dangerous applicants.
2020–2022 · CIVIL EMERGENCY
COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium
Quantitative analysis of Washington's rental housing market, drawn from member infrastructure and compliance data.
2019 · ORDINANCE 125950
Roommate
Bestows occupancy rights on any roommate or "immediate family member" of a current tenant—broadly defined to include ex-dating partners. Bypasses screening entirely.
2021 · ORDINANCE 126450
180-Day Notice Requirement
Quantitative analysis of Washington's rental housing market, drawn from member infrastructure and compliance data.
2020 · ORDINANCE 126041
Winter Eviction Ban
Quantitative analysis of Washington's rental housing market, drawn from member infrastructure and compliance data.
2021 · ORDINANCE 126451
Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (EDRA)
Quantitative analysis of Washington's rental housing market, drawn from member infrastructure and compliance data.
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE HARM
What Six Ordinances Did to One Seattle Community.
$39M
Total investment—$12.5M purchase plus $26.5M in renovation to convert the property to LIHTC affordable housing.
44.85%
Peak vacancy rate in 2023—in a building legally restricted to below-market affordable housing use.
$2.6M
Annual net loss in 2023—from a ~$450K annual surplus in 2018.
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7.2x
Security cost increase—from ~$116K/year (2015–2018) to $833K in 2022.
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44.1%
Rent collection rate in 2023—down from 93% between 2015 and 2018.
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23
Years remaining on the LIHTC compliance period—the property cannot be converted to market-rate use.
Source: Complaint filed in King County Superior Court, June 24, 2024. All figures drawn from GRE Downtowner's verified financial records and the complaint's supporting exhibits.
What's at Stake
01
The limits of cumulative regulation. Washington courts have rarely addressed whether a stack of individually-defensible ordinances can collectively amount to a taking. The Addison case asks the Court of Appeals to recognize that a regulatory regime's total burden matters, not just each regulation in isolation.
02
The future of LIHTC investment in Seattle. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is the federal government's primary tool for affordable housing development. Private investors underwrite LIHTC deals based on assumed regulatory stability. When that stability breaks down, capital stops flowing—and the supply of affordable housing contracts.​​
03
The right to exclude—in a different posture. Unlike the Cedarland case, Addison challenges municipal ordinances that override the right to exclude through the Fair Chance and Roommate Ordinances. A Washington appellate ruling here would sit alongside the federal cases on the same doctrinal question.​​
04
The precedent for housing providers statewide. Seattle is the largest rental market in Washington. How Washington appellate courts treat the Addison case will shape how other cities craft—and other housing providers challenge—similar regulations across the state.
Case Timeline
Every filing, ruling, and hearing—updated as the case progresses.
2012
GRE purchases & renovates the Addison
$12.5M acquisition plus $26.5M renovation. Property placed in service in LIHTC program in 2013.
2015-2018
Stable operation
Rent collections average 93% of gross potential rent. Vacancy rates low. The property meets all projected financial benchmarks.
2018-2022
Seattle passes six ordinances
Fair Chance Housing (2018), Roommate (2019), Winter Eviction Ban (2020), COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium (2020–2022), 180-Day Notice (2021), and EDRA (2021).
Nov. 2023
GRE defaults on mortgage
Cumulative losses exceed $6 million. The Addison's income is insufficient to service the property's debt.
Jun 24, 2024
Complaint filed
GRE Downtowner LLC v. City of Seattle filed in King County Superior Court. Represented by Stoel Rives LLP. RHAWA publicly supports the filing.
Feb 14, 2025
Trial court dismisses
King County Superior Court grants the City's motion to dismiss, relying on Washington Supreme Court precedent in Gonzales v. Inslee.
2025
Notice of appeal filed
Case transferred to Washington Court of Appeals, Division I. Case No. 87886-7.
Recent
Oral argument at Court of Appeals
Counsel for GRE argued the six ordinances operated together to destroy the Addison's value. The City argued routine regulatory action does not amount to a taking. No ruling has issued.
Upcoming
Court of Appeals ruling pending
RHAWA will update this page when the Court of Appeals issues its opinion.
Lead Counsel
Stoel Rives represents GRE Downtowner in the Addison litigation. Stoel Rives LLP is a Pacific Northwest law firm with more than 350 attorneys across offices in Seattle, Portland, Boise, Anchorage, and other western cities. The firm represents clients across real estate, energy, agriculture, and complex commercial litigation. Scott Pritchard argued for GRE at the Washington Court of Appeals.​
Supported by RHAWA IMPACT
The RHAWA IMPACT Team has supported GRE Downtowner and Stole Reeves throughout this effort. RHAWA IMPACT has served as a crucial partner in maintaining a consistent message and ensuring media outlets have up to date and accurate information on the ongoing litigation.
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RHAWA IMPACT's Efforts Include:
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Spearheaded the opening press conference announcing the lawsuit.
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Invited key media outlets to share GRE's message with the general public.
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Engaged in multiple interviews and assisted in media training of GRE Downtowner representatives.
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Created and distributed media content on behalf of GRE Downtowner and Stole Reeves.
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Consultation on messaging, strategy and timelines.
