A new Apple initiative addresses California’s housing-affordability crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company said Wednesday. In partnership with the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, Sobrato Philanthropies and Destination: Home, Apple launched the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund with an initial investment of $50 million.
The fund aims to accelerate affordable housing development by providing targeted, favorable loans to developers. It’s part of Apple’s larger $2.5 billion commitment to tackle housing affordability issues across the company’s home state.
Apple’s $50 million Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund builds affordable housing as part of $250 billion plan
Kristina Raspe, Apple’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, emphasized the company’s dedication to creating affordable housing options amid California’s ongoing affordable-housing crisis.
“We believe everyone deserves a place to call home,” she said. “We’re excited to help launch the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund as part of our long-term commitment to our home state.”
The new fund will support four projects in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. It could create more than 400 homes within the next two years. Its approach focuses on removing common barriers faced by affordable housing developers. It aims to deliver high-quality units faster, and at significantly lower costs, than current industry averages.
The state needs innovative solutions to the housing crisis, according to Rebecca Foster, CEO of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund. It will manage the new fund.
“We must think outside the box to significantly reduce costs and timelines,” she said. “This fund is designed to showcase what is possible with clear goals, shared commitment and a simplified financing structure.”
First project breaks ground next week in San Francisco
The fund’s first project, developed by Mercy Housing, is set to break ground next week in San Francisco’s Mission District. It will provide 145 units of permanent supportive housing for seniors at risk of homelessness. A second project in Santa Cruz should begin construction later this year.
Apple’s investment in the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund brings its total allocation for affordable housing initiatives in California to more than $1.6 billion. These efforts already benefited more than 60,000 Californians, with affordable housing developers building or preserving more than 10,000 units at more than 90 developments statewide.
The company’s support also helped more than 35,000 Bay Area residents at risk of eviction remain in their homes. And it helped more than 2,500 first-time homebuyers finance their properties.
Apple continues to collaborate with various organizations, including Housing Trust Silicon Valley, California Housing Finance Agency and United Way of Greater Los Angeles, to address California’s ongoing housing crisis.
Source: Apple
