Silver Spring developer Banneker Ventures said Tuesday it has received a $20 million loan from Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to help it build 193 affordable housing units across the street from the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant Metro station in Prince George’s County.
Banneker, a Black-led real estate development firm that also has an office in Southeast Washington, D.C., is the lead developer for Park Place, an $85 million development that will rise from a vacant lot at 6301 Central Ave. in Capitol Heights, Banneker President Omar Karim said. All of the units, ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, will be preserved as affordable for 99 years.
Amazon awarded the loan through its Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion pot the e-commerce giant established to help increase the supply of affordable homes in its three hub regions, including Greater Washington. Since the fund’s launch in January 2021, Amazon has committed more than $1 billion to help build or preserve at least 6,500 affordable housing units in D.C. and its surrounding suburbs.
