Amazon opened a permanent homeless shelter in its Seattle HQ, offering vulnerable families a place to stay during the pandemic — take a tour

Amazon Seattle headquarters.Ted S. Warren/AP

• A homeless family shelter opened in Amazon's Seattle headquarters in March, as the coronavirus pandemic ramped up in the US.
• Mary's Place Family Center has been a safe place for families from other shelters with conditions making them vulnerable to the coronavirus.
• The shelter has programs for new moms and babies, families with medically fragile babies, the elderly, and others.

Amazon's Seattle headquarters is now home to a new homeless family shelter. Mary's Place Family Center opened its doors on the Amazon campus in March, just as the coronavirus pandemic was growing in the US.

This new permanent shelter has been planned since 2017. From 2016 to 2018, the shelter operated out of a vacant building on campus until this location was ready. The eight-floor shelter has 63,000-square-feet of usable space, increasing the center's previous capacity by 40%. Mary's Place can shelter up to 1,000 people a year, and 2,000 people each night, as described by Amazon VP of global real estate and facilities, John Schoettler.

Amazon has faced criticism over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. While millions file for unemployment, CEO Jeff Bezos increased his wealth by $24 billion. In April, over 30 workers at a warehouse outside of New York City tested positive for COVID-19. Despite the surge in orders, Amazon announced that it would end hazard pay raise for warehouse workers at the end of May, though many workers say it's too soon.

The original plans for the shelter have adapted as the coronavirus pandemic made shelter and isolation even more important.

Here's what it looks like.