The Porchlight April 2023

REDI PROGRAM

We are so excited and honored to sponsor, along with Communityworks Carolina, ULI's first Real Estate Diversity Initiative (REDI) graduating class. The 12 week program is designed as an intensive group learning experience for professionals of color working in land use and real estate industries. It helps emerging developers expand their knowledge and skills to successfully develop real estate. Doing so helps bring diversity into the field of real estate development. We are so happy for this class and can't wait to see all the great things we know they'll do in our community! You can read more about this initiative in the Greenville News.

CITY INVESTMENT

The City of Greenville is committing to an ongoing contribution agreement of $2.5 million annually to support affordable housing efforts through the Greenville Housing Fund. This investment will allow GHF to work with financial institutions to obtain a $30 million loan to support both production and preservation of affordable housing, including homeownership and affordable rental. You can read all about this great investment in the Greenville Journal and the Post and Courier.

S. 284 & H. 4213
The Hospitality/Accommodations Tax Workforce Housing Bill, which would allow hospitality/ accommodations tax to be put toward workforce housing development remains in the House Ways and Means Committee and is currently waiting to be assigned to a subcommittee. We encourage you to reach out to your representative and let them know you care about housing affordability and the importance of passing this bill to support our hospitality industry workers. You can watch our own Tina Belge discuss the bill with WYFF here.

Important Dates

May 15th- Development Code Public Hearing

The Planning Commission will hold the next public hearing at 4 p.m., Monday, May 15, at the Prisma Health Welcome Center at Unity Park, to accept comments on the draft City of Greenville Development Code. Those who wish to speak may register in advance; the registration link will be live from April 28 to Noon on Friday, May 12. Advance registration for speakers is optional; members of the public may still register in person at the public hearing.

May 22nd- City Council's First Vote on Annual Budget

The City of Greenville is in the process of adopting it's annual budget with affordable housing being one of the items under consideration, in addition to the already committed $2.5 million annually to the Greenville Housing Fund. You can find the latest budget workshop here. As well as read analysis of this year's budget by the Greenville News here. The budget will be heard and voted on at City Council's formal meeting May 22nd at 5:30 at City Hall.

Coalition Member Spotlight

Greenville County is the local county government agency that serves our community and all related public services. They cover everything from permitting to recreation, emergency services, and more. Their mission is to "Provide quality public service to all citizens of Greenville County." They are also one of the largest employers in Greenville County.

Their vision is: "A thriving, vibrant, diverse community with abundant opportunities for unmatched quality of life that blends tradition and innovation." And their values are:

Spiritual growth in a family environment
Excellence through teamwork
Responsible focus on community needs
Visible commitment to citizens
Integrity in all that we do
Courageous adherence to open and honest communication
Encouragement of knowledge and competence

Greenville County helped kickoff our coalition in 2020 and has been a member since, with council members serving on our Joint Council Working Group where both city and county elected officials meet to discuss affordable housing issues. Greenville County has also been committed to housing affordability for decades, through their support of the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority. But it's not just GCRA they've supported. They've supported GHF through our acquisition of Harmony Ridge in Travelers Rest. Staff and council are also advancing this effort recently not just through incentives like the county abatement and unified development ordinance but also through their process with the new Affordable housing subcommittee. We are grateful to have them as a member of our coalition and ongoing work as we work together to bring greater housing affordability to our community.

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100 West Antrim Dr.
Greenville, SC 29607

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