Apple is collaborating with the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, Sobrato Philanthropies, and Destination: Home to launch the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund. This fund will provide targeted loans to support the development of affordable housing, as part of Apple’s $2.5 billion commitment to address the housing affordability crisis in California.
According to Kristina Raspe, Apple’s VP of Global Real Estate and Facilities, “We believe everyone deserves a place to call home, and we are proud that Apple’s $2.5 billion initiative is supporting more affordable housing options across the state.”
With an initial investment of $50 million, the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund will support four projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, creating over 400 homes in the next two years. The fund aims to eliminate the barriers often faced by affordable housing developers, allowing them to produce high-quality units more quickly and at a lower cost than the current industry average.
Rebecca Foster, CEO of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, said, “We cannot solve the homelessness and affordability crisis in the Bay Area if we keep building and funding affordable housing the same way. This fund is designed to show what is possible with clear goals, shared commitment, and a simple financing structure.”
Next week, Mercy Housing will celebrate the groundbreaking of an affordable housing development project in the Mission District, San Francisco, as the first project supported by the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund. This project will provide 145 permanent housing units for seniors experiencing or at risk of homelessness. A second project is expected to begin in Santa Cruz later this year.
With this new investment, Apple has allocated over $1.6 billion to support affordable housing initiatives in California, providing direct benefits to over 60,000 Californians. Apple has helped over 35,000 Bay Area residents at risk of losing their homes and assisted over 2,500 first-time homebuyers in financing their homes.
In addition to the three main partners of the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund, Apple is also working with the Housing Trust Silicon Valley, the California Housing Finance Agency, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and developers throughout California to address the housing crisis in the state.
