Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
said Wednesday that it is launching a $ 2 billion housing equity fund to make more than 20,000 affordable homes available to families in the Puget Sound region of Washington state; Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee – three communities where the company has or expects to have at least 5,000 employees each in the coming years. The fund will offer sub-market loans and subsidies to housing partners, public agencies and minority-led organizations, the company said in a statement. Early investments include 4381.9 million in sub-market loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy to preserve or create up to 1,300 affordable homes on the Crystal House property in Arlington and $ 185.5 million in sub-market loans and grants to King County Housing Authority to preserve up to 1,000 affordable homes in Washington state. Shares fell 2.3% in the pre-market, but gained 70% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
earned 15%.
