$ 500 million: Microsoft wants to promote housing in Seattle. The plan calls for $ 475 million in loans and a $ 25 million donation to help the homeless, the software company said.
Rents in Seattle and the surrounding area have risen 96 percent over the past eight years – making it hard for low and middle-income people to find affordable housing, Microsoft manager Brad Smith said in a blog post.
The rise of Amazon with headquarters in Seattle and previously by Microsoft from neighboring Redmond had made the region a technology center. Other tech companies such as Apple have locations here, and start-ups are also established. With tens of thousands of well-paid IT experts rents rose, and at the same time there were more and more homeless people. The City Council of Seattle tried last year to raise money to combat homelessness with a new tax. Larger companies should pay $ 275 per employee annually. After massive resistance from the economy, the decision was taken back a few weeks later.
Microsoft now wants to lend $ 225 million at below market level to real estate developers so they can build cheaper housing. An additional $ 250 million is expected to be used to support low-income housing for low-cost loans. They were supposed to help those who earned less than 60 percent of the local average income, the Seattle Times wrote.
Announcement from Microsoft
