Here are the three properties Bluffton is planning to develop into affordable housing
After Bluffton has spent years talking about the need to provide reasonably priced places for the town’s workforce to live, a developer could break ground this year on three affordable housing developments.
Fred Hamilton, who chairs Bluffton Town Council’s affordable housing committee, said Monday that the town manager and staff are hashing out a contract with Bluffton-based developer State of Mind Street Partners to create three affordable housing developments on parcels of land owned by the town near Old Town Bluffton.
Heather Colin, Bluffton’s director of growth management, said staff hopes to present the contract draft to Bluffton Town Council in February for approval. If it’s approved, she said, the town manager can negotiate a contract with the developer, who can then begin construction.
The developments could provide up to 98 units of housing for Bluffton’s low- and moderate-income families. The proposal is the largest affordable housing initiative the town has taken to date, as rent prices in the booming town continue to soar.
Hamilton and Colin said much is still unknown about the proposed developments, including how much it will cost to build them, the income range for residents’ eligibility and how many units will be sold versus rented.
But Hamilton is hoping that by the end of this year, ground will have been broken in three spots across Bluffton to house its working families. It’s been a long time coming for the mayor pro-tem, who said the only successful affordable housing development the town was able to accomplish in his 16 years on council was a six-unit project on Wharf Street.
“The timing is now,” Hamilton said. “I’m serious.”
Here’s a look at the three proposed developments:
1. 1095 May River Road — Currently an empty 1.78-acre plot in the Simmonsville Road area, the property at May River Road could support up to 14 units, Colin said, thanks to a Bluffton ordinance that allows developers to double the density if all the units are for affordable housing. Although nothing is set in stone, Colin said, the units would likely be a mix of attached townhomes, single-family homes and duplexes. The town bought the plot for $263,000 in 2018.
2. 184 Bluffton Road — This 0.71-acre green space at Bluffton Road and Dr. Mellichamp Drive in Old Town Bluffton — commonly referred to as the “CrossFit site” for its exercise equipment — can be redeveloped to accommodate three to four attached townhomes, Colin said. The town bought it for $600,000 in 2017.
3. 115 Bluffton Road — This 9.34-acre empty plot is across the road from the new Burnt Church Distillery, next to Shady Glen mobile home park. Colin said the lot can accommodate between 60 and 80 units, depending on the combination of single-family homes, attached townhomes and duplexes. Public comments indicated potential residents would prefer home ownership over other options, Colin said.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 4:30 AM.
