‘We don't want this:' Conway leaders mulling future of planned workforce housing development

Yahoo

18-03-2025

CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Residents inside a quiet Conway community spent this month pleading with city leaders to block construction there of a $22 million workforce housing development they said would alter their lives forever.
'We love our neighborhood. We don't want this,' Chicora Boulevard resident Elizabeth Orlando told the city's planning commission March 6. 'We really don't need more low-income housing for other people who aren't from here to make money from. We need to take care of the residents of the city of Conway.'
On Monday, the city council responded — delaying a rezone vote that would clear the way for North Carolina-based Taft Mills Group to create 80 workforce housing units on 7.8 acres fronting Highway 701.
Officials said they support TMG's concept, but want to find a more suitable spot.
'I would vote 'no' to rezone it, but I would look forward to working with the developer to find a different location that everything would match up better,' councilwoman Julie Hardwick said.
Nate Broman-Fulks, TMG's vice president of development, said the firm would need to have the rezone complete by May 19 in order to apply for tax credit financing through SC Housing.
Conway, he said, makes sense for the project — which would be open to people who make 70% of the area's median income, or $55,500 for a family of four. The multi-story buildings would offer units with up to three bedrooms.
'It's an incredible location near grocery stores and several parks, shopping centers and doctors downtown as well as schools, so it checks all those boxes for us,' Broman-Fulks said March 6.
If approved, the development would be Conway's first tax-credit funded workforce housing project in nearly 20 years and come at a time when average rents in the city are $1,850.
'It's a vibrant community. A lot of people want to be here, so I don't see that going the other direction,' Broman-Fulks said. 'It's probably going to get harder for people to afford to live here that are working here.'
Residents like Kimberley Daley said adding more traffic and people into the area would create public safety issues.
'It all looks wonderful on paper but for everything good about it, there's 100 things bad,' she said March 6.
At least one prominent community group is backing TMG's efforts.
'Affordable housing provides individuals and families with secure, stable homes. This stability is essential for emotional well-being and overall health. Housing is needed much more than another commercial center. Rezoning this parcel will allow the City to meet the crucial need for housing,' Tara Ostrander of the Family Justice Center of Horry and Georgetown Counties wrote in a letter of support.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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