AARP Pittsburgh Volunteers Build ADU-Style Gingerbread House for Pittsburgh Contest

Two AARP Pittsburgh volunteers recently led a holiday season-themed project for AARP’s local advocacy and educational work around all-ages affordable housing.

At the City of Pittsburgh’s 20th Annual Gingerbread Contest, volunteers designed a gingerbread house featuring an Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU, a key (and in this case, tasty) piece of AARP Pittsburgh's housing advocacy.

The contest will include online voting and a public display as part of Pittsburgh’s downtown holiday festivities. Voting will take place from November 18th-January 6th.

Volunteers leveraged their creative spirits, constructing the project entirely from edible ingredients, including the incorporation of homemade icing and a variety of colorful holiday treats.

AARP Pittsburgh has been working with local elected officials, community leaders, and Pittsburgh residents to provide education on ADUs as an affordable, accessible housing option for people of all ages. ADUs can be used to keep multi-generational families together, to give homeowners the option to rent part of their property in order to make their mortgages or property taxes more affordable, giving Pittsburgh families more options for aging in place.

AARP looks forward to participating in the contest and engaging local volunteers. (Note – this project drew inspiration from AARP Iowa, who partnered on their own local ADU Gingerbread competition in 2021.)