Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc . (NYSE: HPP) said Feb.11 that it is pledging $20 million over the next five years to increase affordable housing and support individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
“Our commitment to solving the homelessness crisis is the cornerstone of Hudson Pacific’s community outreach, and it’s absolutely essential that as a company we are part of the solution across our markets,” said Victor Coleman, chairman and CEO.
The pledge is part of Hudson Pacific’s Better Blueprint corporate responsibility platform and will include both impact investments and philanthropic donations in Hudson Pacific’s core markets of Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver.
As part of the commitment, Hudson Pacific is investing $3 million with SDS Capital Group’s Supportive Housing Fund, which invests in the development of permanent, supportive housing across Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. SDS Capital Group will partner with affordable housing developer RMG Housing to complete the developments three times as fast and at less than half the average per-unit cost of permanent sustainable housing in California, the REIT noted.
Natalie Teear, vice president of sustainability and social impact at Hudson Pacific, noted that in Los Angeles it costs over $500,000 to build one unit of permanent supportive housing. That number exceeds $700,000 in the Bay Area. “The status quo approach to building housing for our most vulnerable populations must change,” she said.