Apple Pledges $2.5 Billion to Help Solve California’s Housing Problem

Text Size
- +

Toggle Dark Mode

Apple this week announced that it would deliver a $2.5 billion financial package to help address the affordable housing crisis in its home state of California.

The Cupertino tech giant divvied up the package into a five-point plan. That includes $1 billion for an affordable housing investment fund and another $1 billion in mortgage assistance for first-time home buyers, Apple said in a press release Monday.

Apple will put $150 million in a Bay Area affordable and low-income housing fund and $50 million toward protecting vulnerable populations in the state. The company is also opening up $300 million worth of Apple-land for affordable housing development.

The plan was put together in partnership with the State, California Governor Gavin Newsom and other smaller organizations.

“This unparalleled financial commitment to affordable housing, and the innovative strategies at the heart of this initiative, are proof that Apple is serious about solving this issue,” Gov. Newsom said.

Apple said it specifically designed the endeavor to accelerate and expand the production of new housing — including to kickstart long-term developments. It’s also aimed at supporting new housing and programs to reduce homelessness in the state.

The $1 billion affordable housing investment fund will provide California with an “open line of credit” to develop and build new very low- to moderate-income housing much faster. The other $1 billion first-time buyers fund will offer aspiring homebuyers financing and down payment help.

As an example of the other parts of the plan, Apple said one of the first projects it will help fund is a Destination: Home initiative to expand the group’s Homelessness Prevention System — a network of providers that offer employment assistance, legal aid, rent subsidies, case management and other support.

California has long been in a crisis concerning the availability of affordable housing — a problem that tech companies are partly to blame for.

In the Bay Area, where Apple and many other tech giants are headquartered, nearly 7,000 are homeless. Between April and June, another 30,000 left the area. And homeownership is at an all-time low in San Francisco.

As for why Apple is putting forth the financial package, the company said that it has called California home before Silicon Valley was a household name. Because of that, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple feels a “profound civic responsibility to ensure it remains a vibrant place where people can live, have a family and contribute to the community.”

“Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and price,” Cook said. “When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.”

In the press release, Governor Newsom said that he “hopes other companies follow (Apple’s) lead.”

Sponsored
Social Sharing