City of Charleston to host meeting to discuss senior affordable housing on Johns Island

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Developers are set to meet with the city of Charleston’s Community Development Committee on Thursday to discuss building an affordable housing complex for seniors on Johns Island.

Developers have been looking to bring a senior affordable housing complex to the island, but there’s a $2 million gap that needs to be filled to start the project.

Sea Island Comprehensive Healthcare Corporation is an organization that’s been responsible for providing services to residents on Johns Island for the last 50 years.

Sea Island Comprehensive Healthcare Corporation CEO Leon Burton says they are one of a few partners that have invested in trying to bring additional affordable housing to the island.

In 2019, Burton says they got the idea to create a 72-unit, three-story complex for people 55 and older. It will sit on 9 1/2 acres of land off Maybank Highway in front of the already-existing Island Oaks Living Center.

Named after a Johns Island activist and one of the founders of Sea Island Corporation, Burton says the Esau Jenkins complex is needed now more than ever with housing costs steadily rising.

“We have more and more working families who find themselves unable to afford the rental rates and the mortgage rates. So, it’s crucial that we continue to look for affordable housing opportunities for Charleston County residents,” Burton says.

It will cost around $22 million to build the Esau Jenkins complex.

At today’s community development committee meeting, developers will be looking to collaborate with the City of Charleston to allocate additional funding. Burton says the city has been very supportive of this project and he’s hoping they will work with him.

Burton says if all goes well, they hope to break ground in 2023 and the project is estimated to take around 18 months to complete.

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