SAN JOSE—The tech giant says $50 million will go to Housing Trust Silicon Valley’s TECH Fund.
The investment is the first portion of Google’s $1 billion-dedication for 20,000 Bay Area homes, announced in June.
TECH, which stands for Tech, Equity, Community, and Housing, was created in March 2017 to provide affordable housing for those with a low income.
Google has been a Housing Trust partner for several years. But this is its first investment in TECH Fund.
Chief Development Officer, Julie Quinn, says the investment will go towards new, affordable housing and help preserve affordable units.
“They’re typically available to people making about up to 60% of the area median, and it goes all the way down to people who are relying on public assistance and below that,” said Quinn.
The fund will cover all nine counties in the Bay Area, from Monterey Bay to San Joaquin. But it comes with a challenge.
According to Quinn, there is a competition for land between affordable housing developers and market-rate developers.
“It’s a fast-moving market, and it’s really important for our development partners to be able to act quickly and to do that they need fast, flexible, types of loans, the kinds of loans we make here at Housing Trust,” said Quinn.
In a press release, Google’s CEO said that they have been “looking for ways to address the affordable housing crisis in the Bay Area,” and “are proud to be the fund’s largest investor to date.”
Originally, the goal of TECH Fund was to create 10,000 units over a 10-year-span. After receiving this investment from Google, they can now exceed their original goal.
