Housing Innovation

Minority Developer
Support

A distinguishing factor for the $2 billion Amazon Housing Equity Fund is its emphasis on and support for communities of color who have been disproportionately affected by the affordable housing shortage.


Equity is, in fact, our middle name. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund focuses on equity through increased access to affordable housing and by supporting partners who will build housing in these communities.

Central to this effort is the Fund’s support of both minority-owned development firms and minority-led local nonprofits. The biggest challenge that minority-led development companies face is access to capital and the resources needed to advance affordable housing projects that benefit their communities. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund provides minority-led organizations with low-rate loans in the three communities Amazon calls home: the Puget Sound region of Washington state, the Washington, D.C.-Northern Virginia region, and Nashville, Tennessee.

illustration of two people standing in a building site next to heavy equipment, a crane, and two buildings

Our Partnerships

Amazon Housing Equity Fund has committed over $760 million to create or preserve more than 4,500 affordable homes in partnership with minority-led organizations. Our partnerships include:

National Housing Trust – Congress Heights Apartments, Washington, D.C.

The Congress Heights Apartments in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Ward 8, which will include the construction of 179 new affordable units for households earning between 30%-80% AMI.  The Apartments will be developed by National Housing Trust (NHT), which works to ensure that privately owned rental housing remains in the affordable housing stock using the tools of real estate development, rehabilitation, finance, and advocacy – all with sustainability in mind.

Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners - 2026 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, D.C.

2026 Maryland Ave NE, located in the Carver Langston neighborhood of Ward 5, will include the preservation and substantial renovation of 312 affordable units and the creation of 8 new affordable units for households earning between 30%-60%AMI.  These apartments will be preserved by Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners in partnership with Housing Up, a nonprofit dedicated to providing homeless and at-risk families with opportunities to transform their lives.

Gragg Cardona Partners - The Residences at Benning Road, Washington, D.C.

The Residences at Benning Road will be the second affordable assisted-living community in Ward 7. This transit-oriented development, located at the former site of an Industrial Bank Branch (one of the first Black owned banks in the region), will create 156 new affordable apartments for households at 60% AMI withinone block of the Benning Road Metro station.  The Residences will be developed by Gragg Cardona Partners, a company that has been working for over two decades on revitalizing DC-area neighborhoods by using public/private partnerships to bring about new investments in housing, commercial space, and community facilities.

So Others Might Eat (SOME) - 4111 Kansas Ave NW, Washington, D.C.

4111 Kansas Ave NW, a newly constructed residential building (originally designed as condominiums), to create 40 new affordable units for households earning between 50%-80% AMI in Ward 4. With Amazon’s support, the property was purchased by So Others Might Eat (SOME), a nonprofit with comprehensive programs that are designed to help neighbors experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty find pathways out of poverty and achieve long-term stability and success.

SGA Companies - 325 Vine, Washington, D.C.

325 Vine will be a newly constructed apartment building in Ward 4 and will include 102 affordable units for households earning between 60%-80% AMI and will feature the preservation of two historic homes. The property is located across the street from the Takoma Metro station. SGA Companies is a full-service firm specializing in transit-oriented, multifamily residential and mixed-use retail properties in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Manna, Inc. - S Street Village, Washington D.C.

S Street Village will be a new development with 90 units of affordable housing at 60% AMI in Ward 2. The site will be developed by Manna, Inc., a nonprofit affordable housing consultancy and developer committed to helping low-income and moderate-income persons acquire affordable, quality housing across Washington, D.C.

Dantes Partners - Parcel 42, Washington, D.C.

Parcel 42 is a new, mixed-use project currently under construction that will include 108 units of affordable housing in Ward 2’s Shaw Neighborhood four households earning between for households earning between 30%-80% AMI. Dantes Partners designs and structures innovative funding and financing solutions for affordable, workforce and mixed-income housing and community-based real estate initiatives.

A. Wash and Associates, Inc. & Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV) - 210 on the Park, Capitol Heights, MD

A. Wash and Associates, Inc.and Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV), are both Black-led real estate development organizations with deep ties to the Washington, D.C. area.  They are collaborating on 210 on the Park, which will be a newly constructed development containing 130 affordable units for households earning between 70%-80% AMI. The apartment complex is located a short distance from the Capitol Heights Metro station in Prince George’s County, Maryland and includes retail space that will offer discounted rates for local and minority businesses.

Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing(APAH)  - Dominion Square West, Tysons Corner, VA

Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) will develop more than 500 new affordable homes as part of the Dominion Square West development project in Tysons located near the Spring Hill Metro station, which is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The new apartment homes will serves families making between 30%-50% AMI. Founded in 1989, APAH helps more than 2,000 households live in stable, secure, and affordable rental homes across the Washington, DC region.

Mount Baker Housing Authority(MBHA) - Grand Street Commons & Mount Baker Village, Seattle, WA

Grand Street Commons and Mount Baker Village will provide 359 affordable apartment homes for households at or below 60% AMI in Seattle, Washington. These developments are by Mount Baker Housing Authority (MBHA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing in southeast Seattle. The Grand Street Commons will include 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and commercial space, plus rotating arts and cultural exhibit space hosted by the Cultural Space Agency. Mount Baker Village will offer a resident services program that provides financial assistance, health resources, life skills and education, family and youth services, and community cultural events. Both developments will be located just blocks from existing or future light rail stations.

El Centro de la Raza - El Centro Columbia City, Seattle, WA

El Centro Columbia City, an 87-unit housing complex by El Centro de la Raza, that will feature an accredited bilingual child development center, and church space for a small community congregation called Church of Hope. El Centro de la Raza is an organization grounded in the Latino community of Washington state. The transit-oriented development--a half-mile from the Columbia City Light Rail Station, provides affordable housing for families earning between 30%-60% AMI in an area currently experiencing residential displacement pressure.

Gardner Global - Calvary 1, Seattle, WA

Calvary 1, built on the former site of an African American Baptist church with strong ties to the community in eastern Seattle, will include 122 units in a new construction apartment building for households earning 80% AMI. Gardner Global, a Black-owned Seattle based real estate development organization is led by Jaebadiah Gardner, a fellow of the LISC-Puget Sound Accelerator Program.