Paige Cornwell with the Seattle Times reports on Microsoft’s new investment in affordable housing.
REDMOND – Microsoft, King County and the King County Housing Authority will invest $245 million to provide affordable rents for more than 3,000 low- and middle-income residents through the purchase of five apartment complexes.
King County housing authority will buy apartment complexes in Kirkland, Bellevue and Federal Way to ensure that the residents aren’t faced with skyrocketing rental costs seen across the region, the organizations announced Thursday morning. Housing advocates say they chose the complexes – with 1,029 total units – because they were especially vulnerable to rental hikes or redevelopment based on their proximity to transit hubs and booming real estate markets.
The funding includes $60 million loaned to the housing authority from Microsoft, $20 million from King County and $140 million in bonds from the housing authority. The partnership is among the first originating from the Redmond tech giant’s $500 million pledge announced earlier this year to address homelessness and develop affordable housing throughout the region.
The pledge is the largest in the company’s 44-year history, and, according to the company, is one of the heftiest contributions by a private corporation to housing.
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