Community Development & Revitalization

Funds provided under the Affordable Housing Land Acquisition Grant Program (AHLAGP) will be utilized to acquire interest in real property to facilitate the development of long-term affordable and workforce housing throughout Charleston County. Funds will support affordable rental and for-sale housing to include single family residences, fee-simple townhomes, other fee simple multiunit projects, diverse multi-family rental developments to include townhouses, apartments, and infill housing, and the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. The primary objective is to provide long term housing affordability throughout Charleston County. Proposed projects should not be speculative in nature and must be ready to move forward in a timely manner if awarded. A grant agreement will be executed following project award and will require, among other items, repayment of awarded funds should vertical construction not commence within 24 months of grant agreement execution.

This RFA is made possible through Charleston County Council's allocation of a portion of its Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Applicants are required to comply with all provisions of the Act as may be amended by the United States Department of the Treasury. Specific requirements will be provided to Recipients in the Grant Agreement for successful applicants. SLFRF funding does not trigger the use of Federal Labor Standards as per the Davis-Bacon Act but may require adherence to the Uniform Relocation Act in the cases of acquisition and/or rehabilitation of existing occupied units. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review Treasury Department guidance on SLFRF funding, including specific guidance on affordable housing.

Applicants that apply to the RFA will be evaluated based on scoring criteria described in the RFA. CRC will submit funding recommendations to Charleston County Council based on the evaluation criteria herein. The subsidy is provided for the acquisition of property for the rehabilitation and new construction of affordable rental, for sale, and supportive housing developments. Applicants are expected to pursue additional project financing from all available sources.

To the extent possible allowed by the various funding sources, all applications should assist in meeting the affordable housing production goals set forth in the Housing Our Future Plan by serving households with earnings up to 120% area median income (AMI). All projects funded under this RFA must agree to a minimum 20-year affordability period to be detailed in the grant agreement. Extra points will be awarded for projects agreeing to a 30-year or greater affordability period.

Applications should review the entire RFA package. Prior to the application deadline, please check the CRC Website regularly for any updates, corrections, or posted questions and answers regarding this RFA. Applications will be submitted via the Neighborly application system. The link is posted on the CRC website as well as on the Charleston County Community Development and Revitalization website.