The family of local civil rights hero Esau Jenkins as well as leaders from across Charleston county and the state broke ground Thursday on the Esau Jenkins Village, a new affordable housing project off Maybank Highway on Johns Island.
During a Feb. 15 press conference, Elaine Jenkins, youngest daughter of Esau and Janie Jenkins, called the project “the culmination of our parents’ vision for safe, clean, decent affordable housing for all on these islands.”
The Esau Jenkins Village, under construction at 3627 Maybank Highway, will feature 72 new affordable apartments for seniors who are 62 and older. Each of the 72 units will be restricted to households earning up to 60% of the area median income — about $33,000 — according to a press release from the city of Charleston.
The community will feature 61 one-bedroom units and 11 two-bedroom units. Another building will provide residents with on-site property management, a multi-purpose community room, fitness center, computer station, walking trail and outdoors gathering spaces. The project is estimated to be completed in spring 2025.
A lasting legacy
Speakers at the Feb. 15 press conference pointed to the memory and lasting works of Esau Jenkins as the inspiration behind the collaborative effort of the project.
“In the spirit of Mr. Jenkins’ work, these 72 units will show our city’s capacity for collaborative problem solving, especially supporting our community’s most vulnerable citizens,” Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said. “There’s a reason there are people moving here, and it’s not just because of our oak trees, our built environment and our sunny beaches.
“It is because the people that live here create such a community and a fabric that people want to be a part of,” he said.
Richard Hutto, executive director of the S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority, said the efforts taken by those involved in the project reminded him of the efforts Esau Jenkins exerted in making necessary changes in his community.
“My grandmother was the same age as Mr. Jenkins. … I really never saw her sit down,” he said. “I didn’t know Mr. Jenkins, but that really reminds me of the energy and resourcefulness he certainly used. I’m sure he did sit down, but when he did, he sat down to plan and strategize and dream and change things.”
‘Financial spaghetti’
Hutto said bringing together so many financial and planning partners on the project shows how badly how many people wanted it to succeed.
“Financing affordable housing has been described as financial lasagna — this was more like spaghetti,” he said. “There were a couple key factors that this community did not have control over, including unprecedented spikes in construction costs and changes in legislation that impacted the taxpayer. Working through that … took a lot of effort from a lot of different people.”
Through a mixed finance combination of more than 10 sources of project financing amounting to $25.9 million, and four levels of government assistance, this development includes participation from the City of Charleston, Charleston County, the State of South Carolina and the United States Department of Housing and Community Development.
Financial contributors PNC Bank, Citi Community Capital, S.C. Community Loan Fund, and private equity also played a key role in bringing this project to fruition, according to a press release from the city of Charleston. The Housing Authority of the City of Charleston contributed 72 project-based vouchers and issued $12 million of tax-exempt bond financing.
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