LISC Puget Sound

Leslie Byrd

ASDEV

Leslie is a founding partner of Black-owned ASDEV and handles all aspects of the development process, including designing, financing, building, operating, and creating positive community impact. ASDEV has completed two multifamily projects in Tacoma, has one 20-unit project in construction, and has a 120-unit complex in pre-development.

Prior to co-founding this firm in 2019, he worked at Boeing for twelve years where he was a project engineer focusing on aircraft interiors. In that role, he concentrated on solving intricate integration issues due to size constraints and complexity. Leslie was the principal engineer of the first large lay-flat business class seat program for the small single-aisle aircraft. Leslie received his BS in Materials Engineering from the University of Washington and lives in Seattle.

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After graduating in 2006, he worked at Boeing for 12 years where he was a project engineer focusing on aircraft interiors. It was not until the economic bubble burst in 2007 that Leslie turned his attention to real estate. Even with the market downturn, Leslie knew home ownership was in his future.

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In 2010, Leslie and his wife bought a home, later adding a mother-in-law suite and many design touches. He learned what boosted appraisals and what didn’t, always paying attention to the minute details. This work lead to the founding of Alpha Sharp Development Partners, Inc., (ASDEV) in Tacoma, Washington. ASDEV is a real estate development firm that focuses on building affordable and workforce multifamily housing in the Puget Sound region. ASDEV intends to help reduce gentrification that traditionally served as a barrier to home ownership for Black families.

“We seek to optimize our business model to achieve positive social change by countering the impacts of the general housing deficit, the high influx of new residents, and the artificial mechanisms that have historically served as a barrier for Black families in the Puget Sound Region.”

Leslie Byrd