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Coastal nonprofit outlines buy-and-restrict plan for workforce housing and asks delegation to press SC Housing
Summary
The Coastal Community Development Corporation presented a model to buy existing units, use below-market capital and 10-year deed restrictions to keep homes affordable for workers at 50%–120% AMI, and asked the Beaufort County legislative delegation to help speed nonprofit approval and access state housing funds.
The Coastal Community Development Corporation told the Beaufort County legislative delegation it is assembling a capital stack to buy existing homes and townhomes and hold them as long-term affordable housing for local workers.
"We formed back in January 2023 and got nonprofit status in May 2023," Alan Wolf said, describing a strategy to buy market-rate houses priced in the $200,000–$400,000 range and rent or sell them under deed restrictions targeted to households earning 50%–120% of area median income. He said the group had closed on 11 units so far and was using a blend of 10-year, low-rate promissory notes (about 3% interest), grants, municipal contributions and bank mortgages to keep rents low.
Wolf told the delegation the group is seeking South Carolina Housing approval so it can access noncompetitive state grants and small rental development loans that could fund up to 30 units; he asked delegation members to help ensure the organization's application does not get delayed by staffing or administrative bottlenecks at the state agency.
Delegation members asked for clarifications about geography and ownership options. Wolf said some units will be offered for sale under restricted terms that allow limited appreciation, and that his model relies on a 5% annual base appreciation assumption to recycle capital into new purchases. On unincorporated areas, Wolf said Beaufort County ARPA funds already designated for unincorporated areas were being targeted and that Hilton Head would be handled separately.
Several members voiced support but also cautioned about scale. Representative Erickson praised the approach to integrate units into neighborhoods rather than isolate them; one member noted that South Carolina Housing receives steady documentary-stamp revenue and could be a deep source of funds if application approvals happen sooner.
The presentation drew public comment later in the meeting from residents who praised efforts to help first responders and teachers but questioned the model’s scale and the use of deed restrictions. "After millions of dollars spent, we are talking about 48 workers," commenter Shao Dan Lee said, urging closer review of the financial assumptions and community impacts such as parking and neighborhood fit.
The delegation did not take a final vote on supporting CCDC at the meeting but discussed helping to shepherd the group's application through SC Housing and flagged interest in additional local and regional housing strategies.
