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Chimney Cove residents on Hilton Head who got eviction notices told they can stay — for now

Hilton Head’s Chimney Cove Village is home to people like Jose Villanueva, a painter who has lived on Hilton Head for nearly three decades, and Maria Hernandez, a single mother who lives with her four children and granddaughter. “When my 7-year-old asked where we are going, I said I didn’t know,” Hernandez said in an interview translated from Spanish. “We shouldn’t be afraid, we aren’t criminals.”
Hilton Head’s Chimney Cove Village is home to people like Jose Villanueva, a painter who has lived on Hilton Head for nearly three decades, and Maria Hernandez, a single mother who lives with her four children and granddaughter. “When my 7-year-old asked where we are going, I said I didn’t know,” Hernandez said in an interview translated from Spanish. “We shouldn’t be afraid, we aren’t criminals.” Blake Douglas
Hilton Head, S.C.

Residents of Chimney Cove Village, a low-income apartment complex on Hilton Head Island, will not be evicted this month as planned, according to a letter they received from management.

The eviction notices they received Aug. 12 have been rescinded and their leases will continue, at least for now. Most resident were given 30 days notice, meaning they had until Sept. 12 to move.

Sandy Gillis of the Deep Well Project, a nonprofit group that provides food and housing aid to islanders in need, said residents informed her of new notices from property manager John Sinadinos taped to their doors around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“Please be advised that the notices of termination you received earlier this month are hereby rescinded,” the notices read. “Your leases continue in full force and effect.”

“We are currently working out the details, I can provide a better update soon,” Sandy Johal, who owns Chimney Cove along with her husband Sam, told The Island Packet. She had no further comment.

The letters distributed to residents were printed in English and Spanish. The Aug. 12 eviction notices were printed only in English, despite many of Chimney Cove’s roughly 300 tenants being native Spanish speakers. Many complained that they were not given enough notice to move out and had no where else to go.

A notice posted to doors at Chimney Cove on Aug. 31. The letter rescinds the previous eviction notices residents received on Aug. 12.
A notice posted to doors at Chimney Cove on Aug. 31. The letter rescinds the previous eviction notices residents received on Aug. 12.

Residents are still required to pay September rent, despite previously being told they wouldn’t have to pay for the month, Gillis said.

The Rev. June Wilkins, pastor of the Christ Lutheran Church neighboring Chimney Cove, said she doesn’t want to see tenants “jerked around” by management.

Residents have received no information on whether the sale of the property that prompted the original eviction notices has been postponed or scrapped entirely, Wilkins said. Questions remain on whether the reprieve is temporary or if residents should continue looking for other housing.

Hilton Head’s Chimney Cove Village is home to people like Jose Villanueva, a painter who has lived on Hilton Head for nearly three decades, and Maria Hernandez, a single mother who lives with her four children and granddaughter. “When my 7-year-old asked where we are going, I said I didn’t know,” Hernandez said in an interview translated from Spanish. “We shouldn’t be afraid, we aren’t criminals.”
Hilton Head’s Chimney Cove Village is home to people like Jose Villanueva, a painter who has lived on Hilton Head for nearly three decades, and Maria Hernandez, a single mother who lives with her four children and granddaughter. “When my 7-year-old asked where we are going, I said I didn’t know,” Hernandez said in an interview translated from Spanish. “We shouldn’t be afraid, we aren’t criminals.” Blake Douglas

After the original eviction notices were posted, Gillis and Wilkins created a fund to help tenants of Chimney Cove find housing. The Town of Hilton Head have called a special town council meeting on Sept. 6 to address the sudden evictions and brainstorm solutions with organizations and community leaders.

The town has been “monitoring the situation” and acknowledged the impact displacing Chimney Cove’s tenants would have on affordable housing across the island. Chimney Cove has served as a low-income housing complex since 1973, and losing any housing for working islanders would further strain their already limited options.

When the Johals originally purchased the property in 2016, they evicted the tenants to make room for seasonal workers from Jamaica who traveled with H-2B visas, permitting them to work temporary, non-agricultural jobs in the U.S.

Losing Chimney Cove would be especially challenging since the town’s North End workforce housing development won’t begin construction until 2023.

Lower home prices were identified as a critical need as early as 2018, when the town completed an assessment of housing options on Hilton Head. At the time, the two fastest-growing income brackets on the island were those who made more than $150,000 a year and those who made less than $25,000.

“Higher-income households can put upward pressure on prices and rents, putting housing further out of reach for those with more modest incomes,” the report read.

This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 11:41 AM.

Profile Image of Blake Douglas
Blake Douglas
The Island Packet
Blake is the Hilton Head Island reporter for the Island Packet. A Tulsa, Oklahoma native, Blake has written for his hometown Tulsa World, as well as the Charlotte Observer. He graduated in May 2022 from the University of Oklahoma with a journalism degree.
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