Amazon announced Tuesday that it will invest another $2.2 billion in its Housing Equity Fund to create more than 21,000 new affordable housing units in Nashville and two other of its hometown communities.
Amazon launched its Housing Equity Fund in 2021 with an initial goal of investing more than $2 billion to create and preserve 20,000 affordable homes for individuals and families earning “moderate-to-low incomes” in Nashville, Washington state’s Puget Sound region, and the Arlington, Virginia region.
While the company planned to reach its original goal by 2026, Amazon announced Tuesday it exceeded the goal two years early and is now committing an additional $1.4 billion in funding to create an additional 14,000 homes in the three regions.
Amazon has funded over 3,100 homes in Nashville, including its $7.1 million low-interest loan contributed to Cherry Oak Apartments, located on 6th St in east Nashville.
Cherry Oak Apartments – the seventh new residential development at Cayce Place featuring 96 units, including 45 subsidized for current Cayce Place residents, eight new affordable, six workforce, and 37 market-rate apartments – opened in March.
Amazon said its 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 said.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company created the Housing Equity Fund to ensure that families can “stay in their communities for generations to come.”
“We hope that our additional commitment—coupled with other public and private resources—will help make a meaningful difference for thousands more people and enable these regions to thrive,” Jassy said.
Since 2010, Amazon says it has invested $20.6 billion in Tennessee and has added $21.1 billion to the state’s GDP through its investments.
As of January, the company has created 24,000 full- and part-time jobs in the Volunteer State.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
