Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
said Wednesday it is launching a $ 2 billion housing fund to make more than 20,000 affordable homes available to families in the Puget Sound region of Washington State; Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee – three communities where the company will each have or expect to have at least 5,000 employees in the coming years. The fund will provide under-market loans and grants to housing partners, public institutions and minority-led organizations, the company said in a statement. Initial investments include 4,381.9 million in loans and grants below market value to the Washington Housing Conservancy with the aim of maintaining or creating up to 1,300 affordable homes in the Crystal House property in Arlington and $ 185.5 million in loans and below-market donations to King County. Housing Authority to maintain up to 1,000 affordable homes in Washington State. Shares fell 2.3% pre-market but are up 70% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
has won 15%.