The Walt Disney Co. said it will build 1,300 affordable housing units near its Disney World theme park as it continues to face heat over wage inequality.
The Mouse House said it is hiring a third-party developer for the project — which aims to build housing for employees and local residents an 80-acre parcel of land in Orlando — as Florida has fallen into the grips of a housing crisis.
Like the rest of the country, rents in the Sunshine State have skyrocketed and home ownership has become prohibitively expensive for many middle-class wage earners.
The residences will be “affordable and attainable” and “will offer a variety of amenities to foster a strong community,” Disney said in a statement. The company added that the development “will be available for qualifying applicants from the general public, including Disney cast members.”
“We are invested in working together with our community to solve complex issues,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “The lack of affordable housing is affecting many people across our country, including right here in Central Florida.”
Disney meanwhile has been criticized for wage inequality — most vocally by the granddaughter of one of the firm’s founders.
Abigail Disney co-directed a documentary film with Kathleen Hughes titled “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” which profiles custodians at Disneyland earning $15 an hour while scratching out a living in expensive Southern California.
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