Aduo

Now accepting applications for an Aduo on your property! See form below.

What is Aduo?

Aduo is a nonprofit initiative to develop an open-source solution for building garage ADUs, focused on the neighborhoods of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks. This site will eventually hold wiki-style content, including architectural drawings, instruction manuals, and educational videos, to guide homeowners in the Bay Area and beyond through the development of plug-in garage ADUs for under $100K. Read our first Medium post for more information about why we created Aduo.

Aduo in the News:

2/21/23 – "What do you get when you cross academia with government?", SF Chronicle’s Fixing Our City Podcast.
3/30/23 - "Palo Alto architect designs 'plug-in' accessory dwelling unit", CBS.
11/14/23 - "Meet the Stanford grad who created a 'plug-in' ADU to solve the housing crisis", Palo Alto Online.
1/15/24 - "Aduo hopes to provide inexpensive secondary housing", The Campanile.

How can I build an Aduo project?

If you are a property owner in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, or North Fair Oaks interested in converting your garage into an ADU, we would like to review your situation and possibly work with you on an Aduo project, where you invest no more than $100K — if the cost goes over, we’ll cover the difference. Furthermore, if you agree to rent at below-market rates, we’ll deliver the project at a lower cost. We’ll complete the first Aduo project in early 2023, with hopefully many more on the way. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page to let us know you are interested.

Who is working on Aduo?

The Aduo initiative is led by City Systems, a nonprofit that has been actively involved in Bay Area housing issues since 2017. City Systems works closely with many local nonprofit and public sector partners, such as EPACANDO, Soup, the City of East Palo Alto, HEART, and the County of San Mateo. Most of its relevant ADU experience comes from work on garage conversions in East Palo Alto in particular, under the EPA-ADU Initiative. The Aduo initiative was made possible through the support of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, the Facebook Housing Innovation Fund, and Emerson Collective.

How can I follow or support the Aduo initiative?

Eventually, this site will be the long-term repository for content. We will occasionally publish blogposts about our progress on Medium, so follow us there for the most detailed updates. We will also share videos on YouTube, and cross-post all content on our City Systems Facebook page. If you would like to get more directly involved in shaping the Aduo initiative as a community member or stakeholder, we'd love to engage with you. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page to let us know if you'd like to participate in focus groups, help spread the word, donate materials, or become a part of the Aduo ecosystem. If you'd like to support the nonprofit team behind Aduo, you can make a tax-deductible donation via Facebook.

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