News from the tech world involves Amazon expanding its commitment to affordable housing, as it plans targeted investments for communities where it projects bigger workforces for its e-commerce operations.
New announcements show that Amazon plans to invest $2 billion in affordable housing, creating thousands of units in three places – Puget Sound in Washington state, Arlington in Northern Virginia, and Nashville in Tennessee.
According to reports, Amazon expects to have at least 5000 workers in each of these locations, and will use its $2 billion Equity Fund to create affordable housing, allowing employees to take advantage of shorter commute times.
Amazon’s move mirrors some similar plays by other big tech companies at the top of the American stock market. Last year, Google’s Alphabet subsidiary got attention for creating a billion-dollar affordable housing fund for the bay area, and Facebook recently announced it will use $150 million of its billion-dollar affordable housing pledge for low income families in the same San Francisco and Oakland Metro areas.
“The fund, which is the largest of its kind in the state, is accepting applications starting Tuesday for Bay Area projects seeking funding,” wrote Roland Li at SFChronicle in December. “It will help finance at least 2,000 homes, part of the company’s goal of 20,000 new homes over the next decade. Eligible projects must reserve housing for tenants making less than 30% of the area median income. In Santa Clara County, that would be less than $33,150 per year for a single-person household or $47,350 per year for a family of four. Rents are capped at no more than 30% of a household’s income.”
With this type of trend in mind, the current drive is not Amazon’s first foray into housing advocacy. Last year, Amazon took the unprecedented step of opening a homeless shelter, Mary’s Place, inside its Seattle headquarters.
“Amazon has a long-standing commitment to helping people in need, including the Mary’s Place family shelter we built inside our Puget Sound headquarters. The shelter now supports over 200 women and children experiencing homelessness every night,” explained Jeff Bezos in a press statement today. “This new $2 billion Housing Equity Fund will create or preserve 20,000 affordable homes in all three of our headquarters regions—Arlington, Puget Sound, and Nashville. It will also help local families achieve long-term stability while building strong, inclusive communities.”
Pledges by tech companies are providing ballast for a major change toward affordable housing in the places where lower income workers can find jobs. One way to support workers who earn less than the national average is to promote plans developments in which workers can rent and walk or take public transit, avoiding all of the costs of vehicle ownership.
In addition, strategic planning like this could impact of the financial strategy of these enormous companies. Stay tuned.