Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is committing $125 million to help construct more than 1,000 new affordable housing units on land owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority or near Metro stations.
In an announcement Wednesday morning, Amazon and WMATA said they aim to finance the creation of new units over the next five years. The funding will be available only to developers who have joint development agreements with Metro. Metro has at least eight such agreements currently in place, six in Maryland and one apiece in Virginia and D.C. About $25 million from the funding will be set aside for minority-led developers to construct the housing at Metro and Metro-adjacent sites.
“Housing and transit are the first- and second-largest expenses for most households in America, and Amazon’s funding will expedite affordable housing near transit, reducing costs for both, while supporting families with long-term financial stability," Catherine Buell, head of community development at Amazon, said in a statement.
With more transit station-adjacent development, Metro builds in additional ridership as developments come online. Ridership has taken a big hit during the pandemic, as people worked from home, sporting events were played without fans and social gatherings were small and limited.
“This represents another return on the region’s extraordinary investment in mass transit, as the partnership with Amazon will accelerate transit-oriented development, grow ridership and keep our region competitive with other global economic centers,” Metro Board Chair Paul Smedberg said in a statement.
Amazon, which is growing its presence at its second headquarters in Arlington County, also announced similar initiatives with transit agencies in Seattle, the company’s home, and Nashville, Tennessee, where it is building out a larger presence. It’s committing $300 million in total across the three metro areas with funding from its Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion effort to build or preserve 20,000 affordable homes in the markets where Amazon has a large presence.
The Housing Equity Fund provides below-market loans and grants to housing organizations, public agencies and minority-led organizations. Amazon’s first-ever commitment from the Housing Equity Fund was made in January, when it put $381.9 million in loans and grants toward the Washington Housing Conservancy’s purchase of the Crystal House apartments in Arlington, near Amazon’s current offices and where it is building its future corporate campus. The deal also included plans for additional affordable units on the Crystal House site.
Save the date:
June 22 — The date that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on D.C. statehood, according to The Washington Post. Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's nonvoting member of Congress, will provide opening remarks, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and others are expected to testify. The House passed a bill granting D.C. statehood in April — it is not expected to pass in the more closely divided Senate.
People on the move
Sunny Sumter — Sunny Sumter, the executive director of the D.C. Jazz Festival, has been named its new president and CEO, the jazz festival organization said Tuesday. Sumter will be focused on expanding the annual jazz festival, as well as overseeing its year-round educational and community program and setting the agenda for the nonprofit organization going forward.
Sumter, a jazz vocalist and arts executive, joined D.C. Jazz Festival in 2008 and became its executive director in 2010. She also designed and directed the first-ever all-virtual festival in 2020 that brought in 200,000 fans from around the world. "Under her tutelage, DCJF has experienced significant growth and impact in its celebration of America’s original art form," the festival said in an announcement of her new role. "Sumter has been especially effective in initiating and cultivating dozens of citywide partnerships for the organization."
Sumter is a D.C. native who attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and got her bachelor's in music business from Howard University. Prior to joining the festival, she held management positions with the Aspen Institute, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Smithsonian Institution and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
Odds and ends
- High school quiz show "It's Academic" will live to see more seasons, thanks to new benefactors David Rubenstein and The Mitre Corp. (WTOP)
- Montgomery County will begin drawing down its mass vaccination site in Germantown. (WTOP)
- Art by Hunter Biden, President Biden's son, will go on view at a New York gallery to be sold for prices up to $500,000. (Washingtonian)
- The Virginia Tourism Corp. is asking the state lawmakers to allocate another $50 million to restart the commonwealth's hospitality and tourism industry. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
