Amazon Housing Equity Fund opens for developer applications in Nashville

Amazon's affordable-housing development fund that has already created and preserved 3,100 homes in the Nashville area since 2021 reopened its fund for applications to build or save more lower-cost homes, the tech giant announced this week.

The Amazon Housing Equity Fund deploys grants and low-interest loans to affordable housing developers in the company's headquarters cities of Nashville, Seattle and the Washington, D.C. area. The company in June announced its additional $1.4 billion investment to the fund's initial amount of $2.2 billion.

The housing fund has resulted in the construction of about 21,000 homes across the three headquarters cities, and the fund is aiming for the construction or preservation of an additional 14,000 units.

Senthil Sankaran, managing principal of the fund, said any qualified developers are encouraged to apply to the program.

“Whether you have worked with us in the past, or if you’re new to the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, if your organization possesses the capabilities to create or preserve affordable housing across these communities, we encourage you to apply," he said.

Notably, 95% of the homes built or preserved by the fund will be affordable for 99 years. By comparison, public subsidy programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program usually result in homes that stay affordable for 30 years.

The fund also sponsors a Real Estate Development Academy partnership with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee to grow the operating capacities of local Black and minority real estate developers. The R.E.D. Academy recently welcomed 12 new fellows into its 2024 cohort.

Reporter Molly Davis covers growth and development in Nashville. Reach her at mdavis2@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Amazon Housing Equity Fund opens for developer applications in Nashville