Google is investing in low-income housing. A division of U.S. Bank will manage an $86 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund for Google. The fund will help pay for the construction and operation of 480 rental housing units for low income families and senior citizens in the West and Midwest.
The housing complexes being built with the fund include a range of one to four-bedroom apartments, and offer a shared laundry facility and community gathering area; effectively creating 500 new units of affordable housing. Via TechCrunch.
Google is stepping in to help build affordable housing where housing investment has lagged recently.
Relatively new as an investor of LIHTCs, Google is bringing fresh capital to the industry at a time when many developers of low-income housing projects have been faced with significant financial gaps. Via BusinessWire.
In March the search engine company made a $25 million investment in two California affordable housing properties, Fair Oaks Plaza in Sunnyvale, CA and the acquisition and rehabilitation of Regency Towers Senior Housing in Inglewood, CA.
You might already rely on Google to search the web, for email, your calendar, and your phone number. Your TV will soon be able to access Google too. Do you want your house to be built by Google as well?
Seriously though, Google has spent $1.1 billion during the first half of the year buying 22 companies. It is good to see Google spend some of its money on low income housing. It looks like Google is living up to its philosophy that you can make money without doing evil.
Is this is good news for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Market? Hopefully Google’s investments will draw other companies into the market.
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Wow, they sure are diversifying their portfolio so to speak. On one hand it appears they are getting out of their area of expertise but on the other it seems they have identified a good investment, as well as being one that is serving a good cause very well. I guess we shall see how it all works out.
You are right, It will be interesting to see how it works out. It is a little strange to read about a tech company investing a lot of money in low-income housing but it’s great that they are considering they have the cash to do so.
They really are taking over. Soon I will be appraising properties for a “Google Loan” (the new FHA?). :) Thanks Bryan. I was not aware of this.
That’s good – the “Google Loan”. In addition to making a head and shoulders inspection of the attic and crawl space, appraisers will have to verify the internet speed!
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