The median income in Charleston, South Carolina, has doubled over the past 12 years, partly because of an influx of wealthy residents, according to the city.
Resulting market conditions have begun pushing lower-income residents out of the historic city. A new initiative aims to tackle the issue with what the mayor calls a more “aggressive” approach: 3,500 affordable housing units by 2032.
“I know some people would love it to just be in the treehouse and pull up the ladder,” Mayor William Cogswell said at a March kickoff for the city’s Project 3500. “But as mayor, it’s my belief if you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
Project 3500 seeks to pump new life into affordable housing development by utilizing city-owned land and combining it with new zoning, pre-permitted plans and preapproved housing designs, according to a recent analysis by Public Square: A CNU Journal associated with the Congress for the New Urbanism, a nonprofit that advocates for walkable neighborhoods.
Before any requests for proposals for residential development are issued, public land selected by the city using weighted scores will already be permitted and approved by the Board of Architectural Review so that development can begin promptly, according to CNU.
The city is also working with architects to pre-design new affordable housing that complements the city’s history and character and prioritizes walkable blocks.
Land slated for Project 3500 developments will be zoned for mixed-income communities, as the city also plans for an additional 2,000 new market-rate housing units, according to CNU. All affordable housing units will remain permanently affordable, according to the city.
The city is striving for a pace of 500 new units per year. To prevent displacement, it’s committed to a “build first” approach, meaning the city will prioritize new housing units before redeveloping existing affordable housing.
The city is partnering with a number of public-private organizations on the project, including the Charleston Housing Authority.
In his March address, Cogswell said he’s been told that the government should stay out of housing and leave it up to the public sector.
“But look, we’ve tried that,” he said. “We tried policy, we tried incentives, and guess what? What we’ve been doing, however well intended, ain’t working. We’re way behind on this. And so we have to be aggressive.”
