After getting his master of public administration degree in international development from Harvard in 2020, Rodrigo Dorador was searching for a mission-oriented career. He was introduced to affordable housing owner and developer Dominium through one of his mentors and hasn’t looked back.
“Once I got to affordable housing, I loved it and don't see myself ever leaving,” he says. “I come from a low-income background, and my parents are immigrants to the United States. I grew up in a pretty blue-collar neighborhood, and I know how important it is for people to have affordable housing and a stable place to call home. It was so helpful to my family.”
As a senior development associate of the Mountain West region for Dominium, the 34-year-old has been directly involved in 19 affordable housing developments with nearly 5,000 units in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Dorador also has been instrumental in the developer making a move into the build-to-rent (BTR) sector. After an architect mentioned BTR, he took a deep dive on the architecture, the cost, and the economic feasibility for a low-income housing tax credit developer like Dominium.
Dominium gave the green light and broke ground this spring on the 215-unit Saddleback Village at Stonegate in Maricopa, Arizona, with two- to four-bedroom homes with backyards, with three more BTR developments underway.
“What we're learning in Arizona is that there’s a lot more zoning that allows for the townhome product at a density of 12 homes per acre where you can actually develop it,” he says. “It also provides a needed resource, especially for larger families that need three- and four-bedroom units.”
In addition to developing affordable housing, he is involved with team development. He started an internship training program to help onboard new interns and continues to serve as a mentor throughout their time at Dominium.