Results-Driven Contracting for Affordable Housing in Charleston, SC

The Challenge

In 2014, the City of Charleston was facing a housing affordability crisis. A 2014 Housing Needs Assessment revealed a range of challenges: approximately 33% of homeowners and 50% of renters in the region spent more than 30% of their income on housing (HUD’s threshold for affordability), 69% of the region’s population did not live near public transportation, and most employment opportunities were located in areas where housing was least affordable.

The Innovation

The GPL helped Charleston design a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify a developer that could create deeply affordable housing units
while improving the quality of life for residents and re-knitting the community through stakeholder engagement, cross-departmental planning, resource planning, and financial modeling.

The Results

Due to the detailed guidance in the solicitation, HCD was able to compare proposals and ultimately select a partner to develop 62 units of housing in a robust and fast-paced manner as needed to meet the State’s LIHTC application deadline. Moreover, the financial modeling and resource planning better prepared the city and developer for contract negotiations, reducing the time between vendor selection and contract execution.

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