Affordable housing for veterans, first responders could be coming to Beaufort County

Yahoo

27-02-2025

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) — When it comes to finding affordable places to live, veterans and first responders are struggling to access that luxury.
However, a 40+ acre stretch of land could soon be home to a development that might help alleviate that stress.
The 43-acre site across from Sun City's entrance off Hwy 170, might soon be the location for what developers call a 'community enhanced development'.
'This is really about a philanthropic effort to really enhance the community and enhance what the community has to offer,' said Amy Friedman, the property listing agent with The HomesFinder group.
The collaboration between Mosaic Development and Lowcountry Veterans Housing Foundation is planning to bring 222 new apartments and homes through a project known as 'The Mews Village'.
Anthony Bastardi, founder of Mosaic Development, explained that since their foundation 2 years ago, they've stuck to one mission.
'Providing quality market-rate housing, predominantly rental, with a public benefit attribute.'
According to Bastardi, it's not just about building more homes – it's about giving back to the community.
'It's not just market rate rooftops, but market rate rooftops that have a public benefit attached to them,' said Bastardi.
Out of the 200+ units, 24 apartments will be specifically designated for disabled veterans and first responders. These units will be housed in four mansion-style homes, with each apartment designed around the veterans' specific disabilities. The apartments will feature smart home technology and will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) approved.
The development would also include a public park, shops, restaurants, a music stage, nature trails, and more. These added amenities would help create a thriving community for everyone, not just those who live in the development.
'They're putting in a shopping center here. They're doing some commercial work there,' said Friedman. 'So it's really a perfect place to kind of have a family friendly town development where not only we can reach out and make it affordable, because that's really important right now, but a place for people from Sun City, for example, or from any of the surrounding communities, can come and have a really nice dinner or go see music under the stars.'
John Stufflebeem, founder of Lowcountry Veterans Housing Foundation, explained that this project is in full support of the counties thriving military community.
'It is filling a need with the number of veterans that live in the area and with the number of active duty who in some likelihood will get out and stay in the area. The idea is that especially for those who are physically disabled, they may need places that are configured to help them with their disabilities or with their issues.'
He added on that many neighborhoods and communities aren't necessarily compatible with disabled veteran's needs.
'They're having a difficulty in transitioning with their medical issues into a normal neighborhood, or community environment, and we want to be able to give them that,' said Stufflebeem. 'We want to be able to not give them a handout, but a hand up to be able to not only survive, but to thrive in a community.'
As for the project's funding, Bastardi shared some insight into how it will be financed.
'There is Mosaic Development, which is a philanthropically oriented market-rate developer. And we have convention on financing, bank financing, and equity financing for a project that's approximately $75 million.'
The veterans' portion of the project, including the four mansion-style homes, will be funded separately by the Lowcountry Veterans Housing Foundation, which will handle its own financing.
Bastardi explained that this isn't the projects first time with the county. Their original plans involved the same outline for the village, but with workforce housing instead.
'Beaufort County has, I would say, an abysmal record of developing or supporting workforce housing, and it's sorely needed. So that was our original plan,' said Bastardi.
As they progressed, the team discovered resistance from the local government and voters who were concerned about overdevelopment.
'We discovered by our numerous meetings with community leaders and elected officials that there is a kind of a no-growth sentiment in government and certainly among many voters, that Beaufort County is already too congested or already too stressed in terms of required services.'
Despite providing the same public benefits, like parks, shops, restaurants, and workforce units, Bastardi says, it still was not enough to overcome the anti-growth sentiment.
Mosaic Development and the Lowcountry Veterans Housing Foundation is set to present the revised project to Beaufort County's Natural Resources Committee next week. With the changes supporting first responders and the military community, they're hoping for a more positive outcome.
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