SEATTLE — Tech giant Amazon is offering a building it owns in downtown Seattle as a temporary shelter for homeless families.
The Seattle Times reports that the company plans to house more than 200 people for a year in the former Travelodge hotel that sits near the core of its campus. Amazon is partnering with nonprofit Mary’s Place to help run the shelter.
Families are expected to start moving into the property on Monday.
The company acquired the building in 2014 as part of its new corporate campus and construction isn’t planned to begin on the lot until next year.
The shelter is a response to the state of emergency declared by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray to address rising homelessness in the city.
“It’s an example of collaboration,” Murray said. “This problem cannot be solved by government by itself. It cannot be solved by nonprofits like Mary’s Place by themselves.
The project is modeled after a similar arrangement struck between Mary’s Place and the city of Seattle, which is allowing the nonprofit to use a former bank building in North Seattle as a shelter until construction starts there on a new police precinct.
John Schoettler, Amazon’s director of global real estate and facilities, said the company contacted Murray’s office to see if its property could be used in a similar fashion. The company got in touch with Mary’s Place, with which it has a long-standing relationship.
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