Amazon to spend $2 billion on housing near key company offices

Amazon will spend $2 billion in a fund aimed at preserving and creating affordable housing in three communities near the e-commerce giant’s U.S. headquarters, the company announced Wednesday. 

The funds will go toward creating or preserving 20,000 affordable homes in the Arlington, Va.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Seattle areas, three regions that are home to Amazon headquarters, the company said. 

The tech giant said it will provide below-market capital in the form of loans, lines of credit and grants toward affordable housing efforts in the three areas. Amazon said it is supporting households that make between 30 to 80 percent of the respective area’s median income. 

Amazon’s first investment will include nearly $382 million in below-market loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy to preserve and create up to 1,300 affordable homes in the Crystal House property in Arlington, according to the announcement. 

The first investment will also include about $185 million in below-market loans and grants to the King County Housing Authority to preserve up to 1,000 affordable homes in the state of Washington. 

Amazon’s latest push to invest in affordable housing near its offices across the country comes as tech giants have faced criticism for driving home prices up in the Bay Area and displacing longtime residents. 

Facebook and Google have both previously pledged investments to help the housing crisis in the Bay Area.