AppleInsider is supported by its audience and can earn commissions as an Amazon Associate and Affiliate on qualifying purchases. These partner relationships do not affect our editorial content.
As part of its ongoing financial contributions to the creation of affordable housing, Apple celebrates the new communities formed through its partnerships with California housing organizations.
Apple is increasingly contributing to help solve California’s housing problems, starting with $400 million in 2020than over $1 billion by 2021. Now the company says it has pledged $2.5 billion, of which more than $1.3 billion is earmarked for what it describes as a wide variety of projects.
“We are incredibly proud to see families and neighbors move into new homes as a result of our partnership with affordable housing organizations throughout California,” said Kristina Raspe, Apple’s vice president for Global Real Estate and Facilities. in a statement. “Apple is committed to finding real solutions that can help our communities thrive, and these new projects represent tangible progress in delivering on that promise for so many of our fellow Californians.”
Through Apple’s partnership with the California Housing Finance Authority (CalHFA), the company has helped provide mortgages and down payments for thousands of low- and middle-income first-time home buyers.
The fund has launched an affordable housing investment program that has supported nearly 2,000 new housing units across California to date. Those include 315 in Los Angeles, nearly 340 in Berkeley and more than 230 for families in Chico’s Cedar Village.
Apple has singled out the recently opened Veterans Square residential complex in Pittsburgh, California, where it claims “a new community is blossoming.”
Opened in March 2022, Veterans Square is a 30-unit building created for both veterans and individuals most in need of housing, according to housing organizations. “For the vast majority” [of the new homeowners]it’s a world away from the streets they recently called home,” Apple says.
“I didn’t know if I was going to go in, so I prayed for it,” 85-year-old veteran JC told Apple. “I love my apartment. They even put me on the first floor because it’s easier with my walker. That meant a lot to me.”
Veterans Square is the result of Apple’s partnership with Housing Trust Silicon Valley, a community development financial institution. Marcus Ferdinand, 39, is the building’s service coordinator and advisor to residents for both organizations.
“I remember growing up in a community that had a lot of trouble,” Ferdinand told Apple. “I never thought this was the way life should be for people.”
“I feel like everyone has the potential to live a life they enjoy — and for some of us it’s just harder to get there,” he continued. “And so if I can help someone get to that point, it makes it all worth it.”
Through its separate work with Destination: Home, Apple has provided financial and rental assistance to more than 20,000 families during the coronavirus pandemic. This partnership has also helped Destination: Home fund nearly 1,700 homes for extremely low-income families in the Bay Area.