New Housing Equity Fund will preserve and
create equitable housing through below-market loans and grants to
housing partners, public agencies, and minority-led
organizations
First investment of more than $567 million will
make up to 1,300 affordable apartment homes available near Amazon’s
new Arlington, Virginia headquarters and up to 1,000 apartment
homes available near Amazon’s Puget Sound, Washington headquarters,
with more investments to come
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced the Housing Equity Fund, a
more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000
affordable housing units in Washington State’s Puget Sound region;
Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee—three communities
where the company has or expects to have at least 5,000 employees
each in the coming years. Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund will help
preserve existing housing and help create inclusive housing
developments through below-market loans and grants to housing
partners, traditional and non-traditional public agencies, and
minority-led organizations. The Fund underscores Amazon’s
commitment to affordable housing and will help ensure that
moderate- to low-income families can afford housing in
resource-rich communities with easy access to neighborhood
services, amenities, and jobs. Amazon’s first investments include
$381.9 million in below-market loans and grants to the Washington
Housing Conservancy to preserve and create up to 1,300 affordable
homes on the Crystal House property in Arlington and $185.5 million
in below-market loans and grants to King County Housing Authority
to preserve up to 1,000 affordable homes in the state of
Washington, with additional investments to come in all three
regions.
“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,” said Jeff
Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “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.”
Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund includes:
$2 Billion in Below-Market Capital
Amazon is providing below-market capital—in the form of loans,
lines of credit, and grants—to preserve and create 20,000 homes
affordable for moderate- to low-income families in the Puget Sound
region, Arlington, and Nashville. In each of these areas, Amazon is
targeting households making between 30% to 80% of the area’s median
income (AMI). In the Washington, D.C. metro area, this translates
to a household of four earning less than $79,600 a year. In the
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, this translates to a household
of four earning less than $95,250 a year.
$125 Million in Grants to Minority-Led Organizations and
Public Agencies
Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund will provide an additional $125
million in cash grants to businesses, nonprofits, and minority-led
organizations to help them build a more inclusive solution to the
affordable housing crisis, which disproportionately affects
communities of color. The Fund will also give grants to government
partners not traditionally involved in affordable housing issues,
such as transit agencies and school districts, to provide them with
resources to advance and create equitable and affordable housing
initiatives.
“In booming cities across the U.S., many apartment buildings
affordable for teachers, healthcare providers, transit workers, and
others with modest incomes are increasingly being redeveloped into
luxury apartments, causing displacement and reducing housing
options for working families,” said Sarah Rosen Wartell, President,
Urban Institute. “Investments like those announced today by Amazon
that help preserve these existing buildings and maintain moderate
rent levels are critical to local efforts that promote economic
inclusion and support the stability and economic mobility of
moderate- and low-income families.”
Amazon’s first Housing Equity Fund commitments include:
Washington Housing Conservancy’s Crystal House in Arlington,
Virginia
Amazon’s first Housing Equity Fund commitment in Virginia
includes a $339.9 million below-market loan and grants worth $42
million to the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC)—a nonprofit
organization that preserves homes so they are affordable for
moderate- to low-income residents. A typical affordable housing
acquisition would be financed with a combination of loans and
private investment, with interest rates as high as 15% for certain
portions of the financing. Access to Amazon’s lower-cost long-term
financing will allow WHC to maintain affordability well into the
future in the National Landing neighborhood of Arlington. Amazon’s
grants also include $2 million to fund WHC’s social impact
work.
According to the Arlington County government, Arlington County
has lost approximately 14,400 privately owned affordably priced
housing units since 2000. Between 2010 and 2018, the median home
value climbed approximately 20% (after adjusting for inflation) and
median rents climbed 11%, while median household incomes climbed
only 7%.
With Amazon’s flexible capital, WHC was able to execute the
purchase of Crystal House in under two months, an expedited
timeline for commercial real estate transactions. WHC’s finance
partner, the Washington Housing Initiative and Impact Pool, created
by developer JBG SMITH, provided commercial real estate expertise
and an additional loan of $6.7 million. Crystal House will offer a
dynamic rental structure. Through natural renter turnover, rents
will be significantly lowered to appeal to households earning less
than 80% of AMI. The conversion of existing apartments to more
affordable apartments began on Jan. 1, 2021 and will continue over
the next five years. A 99-year covenant ensures that Crystal House
will remain affordable for the long term. JBG SMITH will manage the
property on behalf of WHC.
“Washington Housing Conservancy disrupts a market cycle that
leads to displacement and offers the kind of stability that lets
residents focus on their future, instead of the uncertainty of
escalating rents,” said Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director,
Washington Housing Conservancy. “With Amazon’s support, we are
advancing our vision for inclusive, mixed-income communities of
racially diverse middle-income and low-income families and
individuals, to live near their employment and access
high-performing schools and community amenities.”
“Amazon’s investment in affordable housing in Arlington is
transformational—and couldn’t come at a better time,” said Matt de
Ferranti, Arlington County Board Chair. "We are delighted to
further strengthen our partnership with Amazon and to work together
to serve our shared commitment to equity and economic opportunity
for all of our residents.”
King County Housing Authority Portfolio in Washington
State
As part of Amazon’s ongoing and growing partnership with the
King County Housing Authority (KCHA), Amazon’s first Housing Equity
Fund commitment in Washington will fund an initial $161.5 million
below-market loan and $24 million in grants to preserve
affordability for 1,000 apartment homes. The funds, to start, will
allow KCHA to complete acquisition financing on 470 recently
acquired units across three properties—Pinewood Village (108
units), Hampton Greens (326 units), and the Illahee Apartments (36
units)—preserving these critical resources as affordable housing by
maintaining rent affordable to households earning at or below 80%
of local median incomes. This commitment includes $4 million of the
grant funds to support the preservation of housing for extremely
low-income households (less than 30% of AMI) at the Illahee
Apartments.
According to a January 2020 McKinsey study, King County added
67,000 units of mostly market rate rental housing over the past 10
years. However, during this same period, King County lost more than
112,000 units (or over 40%) of its housing affordable to households
earning 80% of AMI or less. KCHA was the nation’s first housing
authority to access the municipal bond market for preservation and
conversion of market-rate apartments to affordable housing,
beginning with an acquisition in 1991. The Housing Authority’s
portfolio currently includes over 7,000 housing units affordable to
moderate- and low-income workers. With support from Amazon’s
Housing Equity Fund, KCHA will continue to build its portfolio and
increase affordability over time by minimizing rent increases.
These buildings will remain affordable long term—for at least 99
years.
“Acquiring these properties in Bellevue to ensure that they stay
affordable is critical to preserving the economic diversity of this
area,” said Stephen Norman, Executive Director, King County Housing
Authority. “We are excited to work with Amazon to preserve
affordable housing options close to jobs, transit, and schools. Our
whole region thrives when a range of housing options is available
to all.”
“I’m thrilled Amazon and King County Housing Authority are
working together to make our growing Bellevue community more
inclusive, equitable, and opportunity-rich for families of all
income levels,” said Bellevue City Manager Brad Miyake.
“Corporate-nonprofit partnerships like this will ensure fast,
strategic action, as well as positive, long-term change as we
tackle this affordability crisis together as a region.”
Since announcing its selection of Arlington as the site of its
second headquarters, Amazon has donated more than $19 million to
community organizations across the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Most recently, Amazon gave $3 million across four legal service
agencies to support families and individuals facing eviction issues
due to challenges stemming from the ongoing pandemic. In Seattle,
Amazon has provided more than $100 million in cash and in-kind
donations to Mary’s Place, a nonprofit focused on fighting family
homelessness, and in March 2020, Mary’s Place opened the largest
shelter in Washington State within a new Amazon office building. In
December 2020, Amazon donated $2.25 million to The Housing Fund
nonprofit in Nashville to help moderate- to low- income households
preserve homeownership and build financial stability.
Please visit amazon.com/housingequity to read more about
Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund.
About Amazon
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than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to
operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews,
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by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets,
Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and
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