Google is committing $50 million to Housing Trust Silicon Valley’s TECH Fund, making it the largest investment in the fund to date.
Housing Trust Silicon Valley launched the TECH (Tech + Equity + Community + Housing) Fund in 2017 to provide affordable housing developers the flexible financing needed to compete for sites on the open market—a key barrier to building affordable housing.
Google’s investment will enable the organization, a nonprofit community loan fund, to continue helping create and preserve affordable housing units across the Bay Area. This investment is part of Google’s $1 billion commitment to invest in housing and the production of at least 20,000 homes in the Bay Area. It is the tech giant’s first investment from its $250 million affordable housing fund.
“As part of our $1 billon housing commitment, we’ve been looking for ways to address the affordable housing crisis in the Bay Area,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, in a statement. “Housing Trust Silicon Valley provided us with the perfect opportunity to do that through their TECH fund, which uses critical capital to break down barriers to building affordable housing. We are proud to be the fund’s largest investor to date and look forward to working together to create housing for those who need it most.”
Housing Trust leaders say TECH Funds are deployed quickly, and a portion of Google’s investment will be used in a $7.8 million loan to help PATH Ventures acquire the site of a vacant grocery store in San Jose to build 93 homes for formerly homeless seniors and an on-site manager’s unit.
The Housing Trust created the TECH Fund as a way for philanthropists and large Bay Area employers to provide resources to help with region’s affordable housing crisis. So far, the fund has raised about $112 million, which has helped bring online 2,300 homes across 21 developments in Silicon Valley. This includes the purchase of land, construction of new homes, and preservation of existing homes for affordable housing that is close to job centers and transit options.Over half of the homes TECH Fund has helped secure are designated for families, a third are for the homeless and/or permanent supportive housing, and one in five are for seniors. Most homes are aimed at those earning 60% of the area median income or less.
“Google’s significant investment continues the momentum TECH Fund was designed to create,” said Kevin Zwick, CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley. “Stepping forward in a way that makes a difference and inspiring your neighbor to step forward and do the same. Not only will Google’s investment make a real impact, but it sends the intentional message that we’re not done and we can all do more when it comes to affordable housing.”
