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Charleston committee approves $395,000 payoff to release liens on Vista View affordable-housing complex
Summary
The Finance Committee approved Resolution 25-105 to accept a $395,000 payoff that will release two city-held deeds of trust on Vista View Apartments; the purchaser says it will invest millions to rehabilitate the 333-unit property and extend affordability through a new HUD contract.
CHARLESTON — The City of Charleston Finance Committee on Oct. 20 approved Resolution 25‑105 authorizing the mayor or city manager to accept a $395,000 payoff and release two deeds of trust on the Vista View Apartments.
City staff told the committee the payoff settles a 2005, $1.2 million, zero‑interest loan that had a lump-sum balloon payment scheduled for May 2040. Mr. Michaud said the negotiated $395,000 figure represents a present‑value discount agreed after multiple rounds of negotiation and that the funds will be returned to the specific housing and community development programs that originally provided the loan.
Why it matters: The purchaser has committed to rehabbing the existing affordable housing and to extend affordability terms tied to federal housing contracts. Mr. Baker, the city attorney, said the agreement will also require the purchaser’s consent to keep the property affordable for an additional five years beyond the original term and that the city, as issuer of related tax-exempt bonds, must consent to the transaction.
The purchaser’s representative, Alex Berger of Radiant Property Management, told the committee the company does not plan to build new units but intends to invest in the existing project’s upkeep and safety. “This is a project that exists. It is a 333‑unit affordable housing complex ... We’re going to be … put in about 3 or 4 million, maybe more, depending on once you get in there, into rehabbing the existing affordable housing and keeping it existing,” Berger said.
Berger said the buyer plans to pursue a new, 20‑year contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from the date of closing and to seek further extensions permitted by HUD to preserve affordability. City staff said the payoff proceeds will be redeployed through MOECD home-program funds and CDBG accounts specific to those programs, not into general city revenue.
Committee members asked whether the transfer risked loss of affordable units; staff and the purchaser said the larger risk would be if the sale did not proceed because the current owner is apparently in a distressed financial state. “Having a new owner come in who can invest in the property seems like the best ability for us to maintain this as a low‑income asset,” the city attorney said.
The committee voted in favor; the motion carried on voice vote. The resolution directs city staff to complete the consent and closing steps necessary to release the city’s recorded liens and to return the payoff funds to the housing program accounts for redeployment.
Next steps: City staff will finalize bond issuer consent and closing details; the purchaser said it will begin renovations after closing.
