Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson praised major employers, including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, for contributing millions of dollars toward affordable housing and homelessness programs. She also collaborated on the reopening and redevelopment of the Brighton housing community near Rainier Avenue.
An image of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson delivering her State of the City address on February 17, 2026. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson on Thursday praised major employers , including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, for contributing millions of dollars toward affordable housing and homelessness programs , striking a notably collaborative tone after recent national attention surrounding her criticism of large corporations and support for new business taxes.
Wilson joined community leaders in South Seattle for the reopening and redevelopment of the Brighton housing community near Rainier Avenue, a longtime affordable housing complex undergoing a major renovation backed in part by millions of dollars from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund.
“I think this is really exciting,” Wilson said. “This is going to mean housing stability and affordability for 124 households, and we’re here to celebrate that because so many people in our city right now are facing housing insecurity. Rents are too high. Homeownership is unaffordable.
” Wilson said the Brighton redevelopment represents more than simply new apartments, describing it as a broader neighborhood revitalization effort involving businesses, nonprofit organizations and residents.
“It’s not just about housing,” she said. “It’s actually about how do we make this into a vibrant neighborhood. ” The mayor also highlighted the role large corporations are playing in regional housing and homelessness efforts, despite recent tensions between City Hall and some of Seattle’s biggest employers.
“It’s really great that Amazon has invested $3.5 million in this project, which is really helping achieve the goal of creating long-term affordable housing,” Wilson said. When asked what the partnership signaled about the relationship between her office and Seattle’s business community, Wilson pointed to additional collaborations announced this week, including a new tiny house village backed by Challenge Seattle and private donors.
“I’m really excited about this partnership,” Wilson said, noting the announcement of a tiny house village involving Challenge Seattle. “That includes money from Starbucks, from T-Mobile, from Microsoft, from John Stanton and Terry Gillespie, and so I’m really grateful for their partnership. I think we all recognize that the homelessness crisis is something we all need to solve together. ” Wilson rose to political prominence advocating for expanded affordable housing and progressive tax policies aimed at Seattle’s largest employers.
More recently, comments she made involving companies such as Starbucks drew national headlines and criticism from some business leaders concerned about Seattle’s economic climate. At Thursday’s event, however, the mayor emphasized cooperation between City Hall and the private sector as developers and nonprofit leaders showcased renovated apartments at the Brighton complex, including larger family-sized units and senior housing.
“There’s a lot of change going on,” Mott said. He grew up in the Brighton complex, still lives there and said he loves the new look. The redevelopment is part of a broader affordable housing effort in South Seattle and the Rainier Valley. Brighton officials said Amazon’s contribution will help preserve long-term affordability at the property through a 99-year covenant.
Curtis Brown, executive director of the nonprofit Brighton development, called the investment foundational for the surrounding neighborhood. Amazon said it has committed roughly $900 million in the Puget Sound region through its Housing Equity Fund, supporting about 10,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 residents. The company said the broader fund totals $3.6 billion across the Puget Sound region, the Washington, D.C. , area and Nashville.
Andrew DeVore, an Amazon vice president and associate general counsel, said the company views housing investments as part of its broader responsibility to the communities where it operates.
“We are very focused on giving back to the communities that we call home,” DeVore said. “We know there’s a critical need for affordable housing in all of these communities, as working people who make our cities function get squeezed by rising costs. ” DeVore pushed back on criticism that large corporations are not contributing enough to address Seattle’s affordability crisis.
“We’re focused on doing everything we can,” he said. “We’re the largest private employer here in the Puget Sound region, and part of that commitment, in addition to creating jobs, is finding ways to have an impact. ” He added that the Brighton housing is intended for frontline workers, seniors and service providers, not Amazon corporate employees.
“They’re essential to making our city work,” he said. “They’re service providers, health care providers, firefighters and seniors who are a vibrant part of our community, who need access to this affordable housing in order to remain as costs rise. ” DeVore also emphasized Amazon’s desire to strengthen ties with the city despite recent political friction.
The Brighton redevelopment also includes additional affordable housing investments across the street from the current project, with more than $5 million in Amazon grants supporting the larger Rainier Valley development effort. For Wilson, the event highlighted the delicate balance between advocating for new taxes on major corporations to address housing affordability while simultaneously relying on those same companies to help fund solutions to the region’s homelessness and housing crises.
"Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie was back on the show Thursday after she made an unexpected exit during the previous morning's live broadcast. Hawaii conservation officers are investigating after a man from Seattle allegedly threw a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal off Maui. Sound Transit officials on Thursday outlined how they plan to address a projected $34.5 billion funding shortfall over the next two decades.
The funding gap coul'You can't drive': Trooper found list of issues with trucker weeks before I-5 pileup crash
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson Major Employers Affordable Housing Homelessness Programs Brighton Redevelopment Amazon Housing Equity Fund Challenge Seattle Private Donors
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