Amazon to Invest $122M in Puget Sound Affordable Housing
The funds will go toward constructing or preserving about 1,700 units.
Amazon will invest $122 million in 10 affordable housing projects across Washington State’s Puget Sound area. The $2 billion Amazon Housing Equity Fund will provide the necessary financing for the construction or preservation of approximately 1,700 apartments in Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland.
The funds will maintain long-term affordability for 99 years for all the residences included in the plan. This latest commitment brings Amazon’s total investment in the region to $670 million sustaining more than 7,200 affordable units.
Working with local developers
To this end, Amazon will partner with nine local organizations. Together with TWG, it will build the Ardea at Totem Lake project in Kirkland that will comprise 170 units for seniors earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. It will also team up with The Low Income Housing Institute for MLK Family Housing, a 147-unit community in Rainer Valley which will also include an early learning center.
Additionally, Amazon will work with Nitze-Stagen for two projects totaling 392 units in Seattle’s Othello neighborhood. One of them is the 201-unit Atrium Court Apartments, which recently broke ground and is slated for completion by mid-2026. The other is Trace 4001, which will include 191 new apartments. Both communities will cater to households earning between 50 and 80 percent of AMI.
Nonprofit SouthEast Effective Development operates the existing communities in the program. One of them is The Claremont Apartments, a 68-unit building in the Mt. Baker neighborhood for individuals earning between 50 and 80 percent of AMI. The other one, The Lake Washington Apartments, comprises 377 apartments for households making between 50 and 60 percent of AMI. Investments in these properties ought to preserve their affordable status.
Extensive affordable housing commitments
Other companies and organizations which will partner with Amazon include SRM Development, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Great Expectations LLC, Johnson & Carr and Bode Affordable Living.
The Amazon Housing Equity Fund ought to deliver 20,000 affordable units in total. It works alongside a $100 million commitment to construct the largest family shelter in Washington State at an office building within the company’s Puget Sound headquarters, in partnership with nonprofit Mary’s Place. The firm has previously employed the fund to invest in the region partnering with organizations such as BRIDGE Housing, Sound Transit and Mercy Housing Northwest.
