do not makes six figures who can afford to live anywhere near its new Crystal City headquarters (Arlington, Virginia). ‘/>Amazon plans to spend $ 2 billion over the next five years to invest in affordable housing in the three cities where major offices have helped raise house prices, the company said today.
The company will use loans, credit lines and grants to “preserve and create” 20,000 dedicated affordable units for low- to moderate-income families in the general areas around Seattle, Nashville and Arlington, Virginia, where it has a large corporate presence. Amazon said in a press release this morning.
‘Affordable housing’ is usually defined as the price that it is within reach of families that make up 80 percent or less of the area’s average income. Amazon is specifically targeting households that come between 30 and 80 percent of the AMI area. The AMI for the Washington area, including Arlington, is $ 126,000, so every household earning between $ 37,000 and $ 100,800 falls within the range. In Seattle, the AMI is $ 119,400, and homes that earn between $ 35,800 and $ 95,500 are in that window.
Amazon has already made two significant investments in affordable housing in those regions, the company added. The first is a $ 340 million combination package granted by the Washington Housing Conservancy to acquire an Crystal House apartment complex in Arlington.
‘We have no control over how the [housing] markets respond to a large employer entering the market or expanding into the market, but we can play a role in influencing Amazon’s growth in our local communities, ‘said Catherine Buell, head of community development for one of Amazon’s philanthropic arms, told The Wall. Street Journal. “With the expansion of our corporate presence, we are working to advance as much as possible.”
Amazon’s pledge has garnered support among affordable housing advocates in Virginia. “We are delighted that Amazon is really making a big leap in its investment in affordable housing,” Nina Janopaul, president and CEO of the Arlington Affordable Housing Partnership, told Ars. Janopaul contributed $ 1 million to an APAH project in 2020, “and we look forward to accelerating the development of affordable housing in Arlington with their support.”
Amazon’s corporate support for affordable housing initiatives has also helped increase state-level support, Janopaul added, benefiting everyone. “So I think it’s a good partnership, that corporate leadership, and then it helps motivate government leadership. They work synchronously.”
The Amazon effect
Amazon has been based in Seattle for more than 20 years, and its impact on the local housing market has been slow and not always easy to separate from other factors affecting the city. In Virginia, Amazon’s ‘HQ2’ 2018 announcement had a clear and immediate effect on the already high house costs.
Arlington has been an expensive place to live for decades, and a major boom in “luxury” apartment and apartment developments near subway stations over the past 10 to 15 years has only accelerated the upward trend. Amazon’s announcement that it’s going to take office space in an Arlington neighborhood – Crystal City, a stone ‘s throw from the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport, has further fueled the fire.
In the six months after Amazon made its HQ2 announcement, house prices in Arlington County rose nearly 18 percent. Speculators first jumped in, within days of the deal being announced, but high-income ordinary people who wanted to live just near Amazon jobs were not far behind. By August 2019, Redfin calls Arlington and neighboring Alexandria the most competitive housing market in the country.
Housing in Arlington is not only terrible for low-income families, but also for middle-class households. When the province published its annual profile in July, the average value of a detached house was $ 949,500 ($ 805,000 for a townhouse). Rents are also high: the average rent in Arlington in the 2020 report was $ 2,024 for a one-bedroom apartment, $ 2,627 for a two-bedroom and $ 3,367 for a three-bedroom.
There are currently about 8,300 affordable affordable units in Arlington, so Amazon’s promise to create thousands more will expand significantly. As in California, however, corporate philanthropy can go just as far without reviewing local policies to fill the missing housing gaps.