Google invests in social housing

When you’ve the economic clout to buy a new company every week, you’re bound to begin diversifying your investments. [Note: in this scenario, you're Google, obviously] The tech giant has been quietly financing several affordable housing projects in many cities throughout the country, from Boston, where the company allotted $28 million in equity to build 240 units of housing, to Des Moines, where housing projects, along with other developments in the Midwest and California, were realized as part of an $86 million fund sanctioned for the construction of 480 income-restricted apartments. Now, Google has invested in a 51-unit housing complex just south of the company’s headquarters in downtown Mountainview, California, putting up one-quarter of the development’s $23.5 million budget. As SiliconValley.com reports, the project, called the Franklin Street Family Apartments, will be comprised of environmentally-responsible building facilities, equipped with solar panels and other energy-reducing measures. The apartments, one to three bedrooms in size, will be available to low income families for rent at monthly rates ranging from $549 to $1,291 a month. Ground was just broken on the construction of the complex, which will feature “Mediterranean” flourishes like tiles roofs, arched portals, loggias, and accents of color.

Investing in social housing has become a very promising enterprise, with Google, along with other businesses such as Apple and Sherwin-Williams, spending millions in federal tax credits, used to drastically reduce the company’s annual tax bills. But Google wouldn’t want you to forget the social benefits incurred in the process. As a spokesman for the company says, “It’s a chance to make a smart investment, with good returns on a quality project, one that also creates housing options” as well as jobs for low- and moderate-income people.”

Source: Architizer.com