South Carolina church to rent out affordable homes

GREENVILLE, S.C.

Grace Church has bought a dormitory constructing from Greenville Technical School to transform into reasonably priced housing as a part of a particular program to handle the native housing disaster.

The church will function the owner for the property, and hire might be adjusted to suit households’ revenue. Lease costs will vary from $450 for a single room to $1,000 for a three-bedroom unit.

The aim, in line with Grace Church’s care and restoration ministry director LeeAnne Cavin, is that the typical household pays within the $900-range for a unit.

“We do have a disaster of housing,” Cavin mentioned. “Our entire neighborhood is admittedly beginning to need collaboration.”

The models are anticipated to open for hire the primary week of June, and the church already has virtually 40 households prepared to maneuver in.

This system will settle for emergency housing vouchers by means of the Greenville Housing Authority however not Part 8 vouchers or additional subsidy from the federal authorities that goes instantly towards hire.

To signal a lease in one of many models, households conform to be part of a Grace Church housing program that provides medical protection, dental care, a financial savings matching program, mental-health assist, automobile upkeep, monetary training, cooking courses, self-defense courses, and job and interview preparation.

Residents are anticipated to remain in this system for 2 to a few years, and Grace is particularly seeking to serve folks coming from transitional housing and restoration applications and survivors of human trafficking, home violence and abuse.

The church will work with different housing organizations to seek out candidates, Cavin mentioned.

The property is the previous Campus Pointe at Greenville Tech flats and is situated on a public bus line.

Necessities to remain in this system embrace:

— Lease and utilities cost

— Weekly reference to Grace Church by means of group or outreach applications of renters’ alternative

— Attendance at a weekly worship service at renters’ church of alternative

— Drug assessments and condo checks

— Participation in courses or teams reminiscent of monetary training or cooking.

The condo models will work towards filling a much-needed housing scarcity in Greenville.

A 2020 research by the Greenville Housing Fund discovered that nearly half of Greenville County renters are cost-burdened, which means they spend greater than 30% of their revenue on housing and utilities. In the event you’re paying greater than 30% of your annual revenue on housing, you’re paying greater than you’ll be able to afford whereas sustaining the flexibility to afford different wants, in line with specialists on the U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth.

Grace Church has 10 areas throughout the Upstate and noticed greater than 6,000 attendees on common every Sunday in 2021.

Cavin mentioned Grace Church is happy to increase its housing ministry and work with native housing organizations to take action.

“We’re extremely grateful to be part of what Greenville is doing,” Cavin mentioned.