History: In 1994, John Wilson, a board member and resident of the Phillips community, expressed a dream to build a subdivision affordable to African American working families in the area. After 13 years of dedicated effort, the subdivision was completed in 2007.
Challenge: Build a mixed income homeownership community where the homes were affordable to workforce families in a neighborhood where the price of existing homes ranged from $300,000 to $1,000,000.
Solution: Liberty Properties Group helped Nehemiah obtain donated services from Seamon Whiteside and Associates to complete the site plan for a planned unit development. Charleston County provided the HOME funding combined with bank financing from Carolina First Bank to complete the infrastructure. Twelve homes were built using subordinate no interest deferred mortgages financed with HOME funds, AHP funds, and funding from the SC Community Loan Fund. The Town of Mount Pleasant waived building permit fees. Another 11 homes were built with no subsidy and targeted working families in the community. The sales price for all 23 homes was $140,000 with an appraised value of $240,000.
