Amazon recently unveiled a new Housing Equity Fund. The company invested over $2 billion to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable housing units in three communities where the company has thousands of employees – Washington State’s Puget Sound, Virginia, Arlington, and Nashville.
Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund
This fund will help preserve existing housing and help create housing developments through below-market grants and loans to public agencies, housing partners, and organizations led by minorities. According to a news release, the Fund seeks to make sure that moderate- to low-income families can afford housing in resource-rich communities with easy access to neighborhood services, jobs, and amenities.
The first investments made by Amazon include $381.9 million in below-market grants and loans to the Washington Housing Conservancy to create or preserve up to 1,3000 affordable homes on the Crystal House property in Arlington and $185.5 million in below-market grants and loans to King County Housing Authority so they can preserve up to 1,000 affordable homes in the Washington state, with more investments to come in all three regions.
King County Housing Authority in Washington State
As part of the growing partnership of Amazon with King County Housing Authority, the company will fund an initial $161.5 million below-market loan and $24 million in grants to preserve affordability for 1,000 apartment homes.
Crystal House in Washington Housing Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia
Amazon’s first Housing Equity Fund commitment in Virginia includes $339.9 million below-market grants and loans worth $42 million to the Washington Housing Conservancy. It’s a nonprofit organization that preserves properties so they are affordable for moderation to low-income families.
Since Amazon announced their selection of Arlington as being the site of their second headquarters, they donated more than $19 million to organizations in the Washington D.C. metro area. Most recently, Jeff Bezos’ company gave $3 million across four legal service agencies to support individuals and families facing eviction issues due to challenges stemming from the ongoing pandemic.