Story last updated at
"It's a blessing," said Lee, a truck driver.
The historically black community has remained secluded even though its origins date back 134 years, when a freedman bought 30 acres of land east of the Cooper River.
It wasn't until earlier this year that a double-sided historical marker was erected on Mathis Ferry, concrete pillars were raised on entry streets, and green signs were installed to mark the neighborhood. Just four years ago, the town of Mount Pleasant built a park and playground. Until then, "We used to play ball, and put hoops in the street," Lee says.
And just a handful of new homes were built from the 1970s until 2002, when East Cooper Habitat for Humanity embarked on Hope Row. The 14 homes, expected to be completed this year on Eagle Street, are being sold to lower-income families. The families pay a reduced mortgage, based on the $52,000 construction price, that averages $350 a month. Their down payment is 350 hours of "sweat equity."
The houses are valued at $114,000. Habitat holds a second mortgage and a state agency holds a third one that are paid off by owners only if they sell their homes.
The project has brought renewed interest in the neighborhood, which is populated by longtime residents and includes heirs' properties and has few, if any, home sales each year. Already, seven vinyl-sided homes have been built and four more are under construction.
"In just one year, you can see how much has happened," says Elizabeth Campbell, an AmeriCorps volunteer for East Cooper Habitat. "These homeowners are extremely happy."
The nonprofit group takes applications from families with incomes ranging from $15,000 to $30,000, selecting homebuyers in part based on need.
Melissa Seabrook, who bought her home three months ago, can attest to the sweat-equity component, where the owners work on homes as opposed to making a cash down payment. She enjoyed hammering and installing drywall, but acknowledged it wasn't all fun. "Putting in insulation, that killed me," she says.
The front porch of the one-story house has a "Home Sweet Home" stitching next to the door. Seabrook, a first-time homebuyer, works three jobs as a school bus driver, baby sitter and sweetgrass basket maker.
Hope Row is designed "to establish a (home-buying) steppingstone," says Colleen Longfellow, another AmeriCorps volunteer at Habitat. "A lot of people are working together to be part of Greenhill," she says.
According to historic markers, Hardy Green bought 30 acres of land in 1870, calling the plot Spark Hill. The Moultrie School District later changed the name to Greenhill. Children walked to Laing School, several miles away. It was a farming village in the 1920s and 1930s. The neighborhood received electricity around World War II, paved roads in 1951 and was annexed into the town 21 years ago.
Lee, a Habitat board member, says the Hope Row homes have helped rejuvenate Greenhill. In the older section, some of the homes aren't as manicured as they could be because they're owned by elderly people on fixed incomes who can't afford regular landscaping, he says. But the town periodically cleans out ditches to keep the neighborhood looking attractive, he says.
The community is surrounded by posh subdivisions such as I'On, Olde Park, Somerset and Heron Pointe, which has a high fence separating the two neighborhoods. The community on tax maps is referred to as Hobcaw ó two of its streets are Hob and Caw ó although it is not attached to Hobcaw Point subdivision.
Citing the high-priced encroachment, Lee questions whether Greenhill will last, at least in its present state. "I don't see Greenhill being here in 10 years," says Lee, who expects the property to sell at some point to developers. "It will be gone."
To reach the Greenhill community from downtown Charleston, take the Cooper River Bridge to Mount Pleasant. Turn left at the second traffic light on Mathis Ferry Road. Continue on Mathis Ferry past Heron Pointe Boulevard. Greenhill is on the left.