Amazon Announces Plan To Build And Preserve Over 35,000 Homes For Affordable Housing Near Three Major Cities

Yesterday Amazon announced they are investing 1.4 billion in funding to create and preserve 14,000 homes near three major U.S. cities to allow for more affordable housing, which is part of the company’s Housing Equity Fund started in 2021.

The fund initially started with $2 billion in order to finance the creation and renovation of 20,000 homes. This latest announcement expands that goal to $3.4 billion to fund fund more than 35,000 homes. Amazon claims they’ve already surpassed their original goal two years ahead of schedule.

The projects are currently being developed in Washington State’s Puget Sound region; the Arlington, Virginia/National Capital region; and Nashville, Tennessee.

Though Amazon says its fund is going towards affordable homes, near the end of its press release they note their initial investment actually went to mostly apartments, per some of the attached pictures. Amazon claims they are now piloting affordable housing.

While our initial $2.2 billion primarily supported affordable rental housing, through the Fund we are also piloting other ways to increase access to affordable housing. For example, in 2023 we funded a $40 million program to make it easier for moderate-income residents to become homeowners, with the goal of creating generational wealth for historically underserved communities. Going forward, we’ll continue to pursue new ways for the Fund to create positive housing outcomes for low- to moderate-income residents.

Amazon wrote

Amazon boasts that unlike many “while many new multi-family developments today consist primarily of studio and 1-bedroom units, 41% of the homes we’ve funded so far have two or more bedrooms to serve families.”

Amazon said in its press release that “the Housing Equity Fund supports affordable housing developments focused on households that earn 30% to 80% of the area median income. That often includes first responders, teachers, health care workers, and others who may not typically qualify for subsidies but whose wages haven’t kept pace with escalating rents.”

The company added: “We’re also intentional about creating greater economic equity by supporting diverse-led developers…