Gadsden Landing boasts front porches, picket fences at bargain prices
But in terms of affordable housing, the sector hasn't amassed such a great track record. The lower- to moderate-income developments are no more than a few acres, they're a challenge to locate and not really that reasonably priced, since market forces drive up land and building costs.
Gadsden Landing fits the bill as to size and location. Drive out U.S. Highway 17, past the Berkeley Electric Cooperative building, and keep your eyes peeled for rural Gadsdenville Road. Turn right, go slow and look for a small white fence, flower bed and the subdivision sign.
The entrance, Tim Ascue Lane, is the only street in the development. Sandwiched between U.S. Highway 17 and pristine marsh on Copahee Sound, the subdivision will have no more than 15 one-story homes, a gazebo and a small park when completed.
The developers believe they have managed to buck the high-priced trend east of the Cooper, building solid homes at bargain rates, even if it took going to the Midlands to find a builder.
The neighborhood offers well-built, three-bedroom homes, complete with refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers, front stoops or wrap-around porches, all for less than $140,000 (and as low as $110,000 with money from eligible grant programs; buyers can qualify through first-time homebuyer classes sponsored by the Charleston Urban League).
The prices would be more like $160,000 to $180,000 elsewhere east of the Cooper, said Rossie Colter, broker in charge with Montez Real Estate. "They're cute styles," she said.
Property buyers have a few options, such as paying more to upgrade from vinyl siding and adding carpet. They can choose interior and exterior colors as well.
While the homes are targeted at low-to-moderate income families, the salary levels are in line with a cross-section of the Charleston area: A family of four making $55,000 a year would be eligible.
East Cooper community leaders as early as the late 1990s saw the need for lower-priced homes, which brought nonprofit Charleston Affordable Housing to scout the region for a site.
Yet even with the early interest, it was still a struggle to get the project off the ground. Luckily, support came from a kind landowner and a dedicated grass-roots group that held many a working lunch at the Berkeley Co-op building, which was offered for free, and at down-home Gullah Cuisine, Colter said.
"We started three to four years ago, trying to find out what are the needs of the whole East Cooper," she said. "We didn't have any property at the time." Furthermore, the land required water and sewer access for the nonprofit group to take part.
That's when the organizers got a break. Tim Ascue, a community leader and homeowner on Gadsdenville Road, owned a parcel down the street. He agreed to sell the land to Charleston Affordable Housing.
With that hurdle conquered, Gadsden Landing was on its way -- or so it seemed. The original plan was to build modular homes, constructed at a plant and assembled on site. Modular construction typically is less expensive. In fact, the original home prices were $124,000. But neighbors and others were worried, so after the first two modular homes were constructed, developers reversed course and decided to build dwellings from the ground up.
Then came another problem. No Charleston area builder could construct the homes to keep them affordable to buy. After a search, the group hooked up with Al Golden, a builder out of Sumter, who was able to construct the homes at a lower cost while preserving quality. He has built three homes thus far.
Residents include single people and families with babies to teenagers, Colter said. For kids, the 10-Mile neighborhood association operates a park and playground with a grill, basketball and volleyball courts on nearby Robbie Glover Road.
Gadsden Landing is one of two projects this year involving Charleston Affordable Housing, headed by Cathy Kleiman. The group broke ground this fall on Fairway Villas, a 28-home neighborhood on James Island.
The East Cooper neighborhood was one of the first outside of the peninsula for Charleston Affordable Housing. Once focused on rental properties in the city of the Charleston, the nonprofit group has expanded in recent years to help build new homes in and out of the city and even in North Carolina.
The homeowners feel safe at Gadsden Landing and have gotten to know each other. "Grandparents come down, and stroll up and down the street," Colter said. "This is like a small town."
To reach Gadsden Landing from downtown Charleston, cross the Cooper River bridge to U.S. Highway 17 and proceed north past the S.C. Highway 41 turn-off. Turn right on Gadsdenville Road, located just past the Berkeley Electric Co-op building in Mount Pleasant. Take Gadsdenville Road for less than half a mile. Gadsden Landing is on the right at Tim Ascue Lane.