Amazon says it is upping its commitment to funding affordable housing in Nashville.
The tech giant will provide $75 million in below-market-rate loans to developers, and estimates that will create 800 units. The dollars are part of what Amazon has pledged across three cities.
“Nashville is one of Amazon’s newest communities, and we’re committed to supporting—and partnering closely with—our new neighbors,” said Michelle Gaskin Brown, Amazon’s Nashville Manager of Public Policy.
The units, locally, will be concentrated along WeGo’s busiest bus lines. CEO Steve Bland says the goal is to make sure residents have housing and access to public transportation.
“We identified those as being what we referred to as our ‘frequent service network,’ which are about eight of our routes that operate every 10 minutes or so — every 10-15 minutes — pretty much seven days a week and kind of around-the-clock,” he said.
The routes include Charlotte, Nolensville and Murfreesboro pikes. The units will be open to a range of residents whose earnings are below the area median income. Property managers have to certify each year that they’re following the rules.
Last year, Amazon donated $2 million to a Nashville nonprofit to help low-income homeowners who were burdened by the property tax increase.
For this new project, Amazon will require annual income certifications to ensure that property owners are housing people who earn 30% to 80% of the area’s median income.
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