By Mark Melbourne
Jan 7, 2021
Amazon has pledged billions of dollars in financial aid to go toward the funding of low-income housing in three cities it has major operations.
Based in Seattle, Washington, the online retail giant also does big business in Arlington, VA and Nashville, Tennessee. All three cities will be the beneficiary of $2 billion in loans and grants to secure affordable housing.
According to the Seattle Times, Amazon has announced it would give over $185 million to the King County Housing Authority in Washington state in an effort to purchase apartment buildings and keep the rents low.
CEO Jeff Bezos said the money will “help local families achieve long-term stability while building strong, inclusive communities.” Stephen Norman is the executive director of the King County Housing Authority. He pointed out that affordable housing too often involves renovation which creates higher rents, thereby worsening the economic and racial segregation.
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Amazon will direct $2 billion in loans and grants to secure affordable housing near three American cities where the company employs thousands of workers, the tech giant announced Wednesday.
In a first step in the Puget Sound region, Amazon is promising $185.5 million, mostly in loans, to the King County Housing Authority to help buy affordable apartments in the region and keep the rents low. The Housing Authority will use an initial portion of that money to help fund its recent purchase of three Bellevue apartment buildings.
Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
In the past few years, there’s been increasing attention on the charitable function of Amazon, and that of founder Jeff Bezos. The company has received a lot of criticism over the course of time about Bezos and his donations to charity, as well as Amazon’s place in the community and how much they give back. It now looks like maybe that’s turning a bit of a corner with the announcement of a $2 billion fund for affordable housing initiatives in Seattle, Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va.