Seattle & Northwest | November 30, 2020

Microsoft Continues $750M Deployment of Affordable Housing Funds

Microsoft is making two loans totaling $65 million to local housing groups that will support the creation of more than 1,000 new affordable housing units in the Seattle area. The latest investments are part of an overall $750 million commitment to affordable housing the company previously announced.

The latest set of investments includes a new initiative with Urban Housing Ventures supported by Freddie Mac, Stream Real Estate, WaFd Bank and Washington Trust Bank to reduce rents in existing market-rate housing in Bellevue and Kirkland. Microsoft is contributing $40 million to Urban Housing Ventures’ effort designed to quickly create more affordable living options.

Microsoft is also providing $25 million to Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) to expand a land acquisition program that accelerates the development of new affordable housing.

Microsoft wrote of their affordable housing efforts, “Working closely with these leading regional and national housing organizations, we are pushing ourselves to think creatively and leverage our collective resources in new ways; simply put, the scale of this problem is massive, and we know money alone will not solve the problem.”

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.

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