Thanks to Amazon, Mary’s Place has a temporary new home. This new venue, 2213 Eighth Ave., will house up to 200 homeless women, children, and families for a full year–and Amazon will let Mary’s Place use the building rent-free. Mary’s Place will still have to cover utilities, but that’s it. As real estate prices continue to soar throughout this city, this is huge news.
This new soon-to-be shelter is a 34,500-square-foot building. It used to be a Travelodge hotel, and then it used to be dormitory for Cornish College of the Arts students, and now it’s exactly what this city needs. The building will be able to house up to 200 people for a year.
Just a year? Unfortunately, yes.
Amazon acquired the building in 2014 as part of its ongoing plan to expand its corporate campus. Amazon currently has its hands full, though, so construction on this site won’t happen for another year. During that dead time, Amazon is using their property to do good.
Our response: Bravo. This is doing business ethically.
Mary’s Place does incredible things by helping women, children, and families transition out of homelessness and into permanent housing, but Mary’s Place is a non-profit. And like many non-profits, the work Mary’s Place does costs far more money than they have. Thanks to a team of selfless workers and volunteers, Mary’s Place manages to accomplish unbelievable things for our city, but it requires donations and support to keep going. That’s why we’re members of Agents of Change, and that’s also why we’re so impressed with Amazon right now.
A new, free shelter for a year? Yes, please.