first homeless shelter built inside a corporate
building in the U.S., the nonprofit’s Popsicle
Place shelter program helps homeless children
with life-threatening health conditions.
“Without Popsicle Place, these kids would
die,” said Marty Hartman, executive director of
Mary’s Place.
Amazon’s state-of-the-art, eight-story building
allowed the unique program to triple its
capacity. The $100 million commitment to
the shelter is the tech giant’s single largest
philanthropic contribution to its hometown,
which it transformed with tens of thousands
of high-paid tech jobs that some blame for
exacerbating income inequality and affordable
housing problems.
Critics also say Amazon’s explosive growth
over the past decade helped fuel a growing
homelessness crisis in Seattle. The online retailer
faced backlash two years ago after getting city
leaders to rescind a tax on large companies that
would have funded homeless services. That
year, CEO Jeff Bezos — the world’s richest man
— announced that his long-awaited, private
charitable fund would tackle homelessness.
The City Council is on the cusp of approving a
new payroll tax that again would collect money
from big businesses to address homelessness,
affordable housing and other priorities,
including the coronavirus pandemic.
John Schoettler, Amazon’s real estate chief who
spearheaded the partnership with Mary’s Place,
said the company isn’t totally opposed to taxes
and called its new shelter “an initial step.” Amazon
asked the nonprofit to help design the building
because it has the space permanently, he said.