Hilton Head affordable housing community to double in size. Here’s where

For many who live and work on Hilton Head Island, finding affordable housing is a challenge.

But next week, work to build more than a dozen affordable homes on the north end will officially begin.

On Tuesday Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity will break ground on phase two of “The Glen,” an affordable housing community off Marshland Road, near Napa Auto Parts, according to a news release from the group.

There are already 16 homes in the community, which were constructed in 2014 as part of phase one of the project, according to Pat Wirth, the president of Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity. Sixteen families now occupy those pastel-colored homes.

After phase two is complete in three to four years, another 16 families will have homes.

“Somebody said to me not long ago, ‘32 houses? What difference does that make?’” Wirth said. “And I said, ‘well, you need to talk to those 32 families living there, and they’ll let you know what a difference it makes.’”

The Town of Hilton Head gave Habitat 14 acres for The Glen in 2013, Wirth said.

Town Council made workforce development and affordable housing a 2018 priority. As of this week, a contract is being finalized with a consultant to provide an affordable housing and workforce availability strategy, according to the town’s website. That consultant has not yet been publicly named.

Wirth said the greatest obstacle of this project has been public perception of what affordable housing looks like.

She said a man recently approached her to say The Glen “doesn’t look anything like affordable housing.”

“This is what affordable housing can look like,” Wirth said. “You can drive by and say ‘Oh, what a nice community.’”

Wirth said Habitat has built housing for about 10 million people worldwide. In Bluffton, Ridgeland and Hilton Head, Habitat has provided housing for about 115 families over the past 25 years.

“There’s nothing uppity or big about them,” Wirth said. “They’re just a nice place for families to live.”

The 16 families who will occupy the second half of the community have already been selected, Wirth said.

To qualify, applicants had to have lived on the island for at least six months, had a job for at least six months and qualify financially. Typically, families who are chosen for the homes earn between $20,000 and $40,000 a year, she said, noting they probably couldn’t afford a home any other way.

Those homeowners will perform hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” to help construct their home and others in the community. They will also attend 20 hours of homeownership classes.

Wirth said the homes typically cost $70,000 to build, and are sold to the home buyer for the cost it took to build them. Habitat does not make a profit, she said.

The homes are about 1,100-1,200 square feet and usually have three bedrooms, she said.

Habitat also holds the mortgage on the home for 30 years at zero percent interest, she said. Those who live in the homes typically pay about $500 a month.

Average monthly rent on Hilton Head was more than $2,000 in 2017.

Each house at The Glen is sponsored by a local group, such as churches or communities, who raise the money needed to build the home, Wirth said.

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 3:32 PM.