Amazon Commits $125M for Transit-Oriented Development In DC Area

Amazon has announced a more than $300 million commitment toward transit-oriented affordable housing development in the Puget Sound, Arlington, and Nashville regions that will create an estimated 3,000 new affordable housing units on land owned by transit agencies or privately owned land in close proximity to public transit.

Amazon will work closely with public transit agencies to fund development on either surplus land owned by the agencies or privately owned land near active transit corridors to create new, affordable, and move-in ready homes by as early as 2025. This new wave of investments includes $125 million in below-market loans to developers working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) to create more than 1,000 new homes in the Washington, D.C. area; $100 million in below-market loans to developers working with Sound Transit to accelerate creation of up to 1,200 homes in Washington state’s Puget Sound region; and $75 million to developers to create an estimated 800 homes on private land in Nashville, Tennessee, near high-capacity WeGo transit corridors.

“Transportation and housing costs account for a significant portion of the average person’s expenses,” said Jay Carney, senior vice president, Global Corporate Affairs. “By investing $300 million of Amazon’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund in transit-oriented housing development, moderate- to low-income families in Puget Sound, Arlington, and Nashville will be able to reduce their expenditures on housing while gaining easy transit to jobs and amenities. We hope this will pave a path for more inclusive communities.”

In Arlington, Amazon is teaming up with Metro, which operates the Washington region’s rail, bus, and paratransit service, to create 1,000 new affordable housing units on property owned by Metro at their stations throughout the region. Amazon is committing $125 million in below-market capital of which $25 million is set aside to fund development led by minority developers, as part of the Fund’s goals to include and grow capacity of minority-owned and -led businesses and organizations. These units will give families access to housing at Metrorail stations and other transit sites, making amenities and community resources more accessible. This is Amazon’s second Housing Equity Fund partnership in the greater Washington region; it follows our investment of $381.9 million in below-market loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy to preserve and create up to 1,300 affordable homes on the Crystal House property in Arlington, which we announced in January 2021.

"Transit-oriented development has a proud legacy at Metro, and with this investment from Amazon we can continue to help the region tackle the challenges of housing affordability, congestion, and sustainability," said Metro general manager and CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. "Having a philanthropic partner in this effort, along with the support of the public and private sectors, puts the region on the best path possible to meeting our shared housing, transit, equity, and economic prosperity goals."

This new wave of investments includes $125 million in below-market loans to developers working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) to create more than 1,000 new homes in Washington, D.C.

View Amazon HQ2 >>