Kaiser Permanente just invested in a housing complex. Here’s what it’s doing with it

Kaiser Permanente has gotten into the business of housing.

The health system announced in May that it would put $200 million toward initiatives targeting housing insecurity and homelessness in the communities it serves. On Tuesday night, it announced the first investment is the $5.2 million purchase of an affordable housing complex in Oakland, California, through a fund in partnership with Enterprise Community Partners and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation.

The 41-unit building is in an Oakland neighborhood “on the brink of gentrification” which puts the existing residents at risk for displacement. By purchasing the building, it will be blocked from redevelopment that prices out the existing residents, preventing displacement, Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson said at a press event on Tuesday.