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JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Funding is now complete for a major affordable housing development on Johns Island that will bring homeownership opportunities to 50 Lowcountry families struggling with rising housing costs.

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity has secured all the funding needed to begin building infrastructure for Sweetgrass Preserve, a new neighborhood planned on a 30-acre parcel of land. The milestone clears the way for construction to begin on what officials say is the nonprofit’s largest project to date.

Once completed, Sweetgrass Preserve will include 50 affordable, owner-occupied homes for families who already live and work on Johns Island but have found it increasingly difficult to buy a home through traditional means.

“It’s folks who own their own houses. So, it’s not rentals. They’re not short-term residencies,” said John Rhoden, executive director of Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. “They’re people who already live here and now getting a house of their own for the first time. It’s people who can’t afford a house in the normal process.”

Habitat officials say the project is a direct response to rising housing costs on the island. New data shows the typical home now sells on Johns Island for about $700,000, nearly 10% higher than this time last year.

Habitat for Humanity says Sweetgrass Preserve offers what it calls a long-term housing solution. Families who qualify purchase their homes through an affordable mortgage and also help build them alongside volunteers.

“We’re probably the closest thing I can come up with to a permanent solution for housing,” Rhoden said. “They’re getting a house, it’s their house, it’s a mortgage, they own it. But they also have to work on that house. It’s not a free house — they’re buying it from us, and they help us build it.”

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The nonprofit is currently working with Charleston County to complete the permitting process. Construction is expected to take about five years, with 10 homes built each year.

Unlike some previous Habitat projects, officials say Sweetgrass Preserve is being planned and built as a single, cohesive neighborhood. The development also includes efforts to preserve natural features, such as saving trees and creating green and park spaces within the community.

“We’re spending a lot of time up front, getting it all planned beginning to end,” Rhoden said. “So, it’s one community as opposed to just throwing a house here and there like we have done in the past sometimes.”

Building homes in the same area at the same time also allows Habitat to maximize volunteer efforts.

“We’re all on the same street working, all building at the same time,” Rhoden said. “We can use volunteers on multiple buildings at the same time. It helps with the economies of scale.”

With funding now secured, Habitat officials say there are more opportunities for community members to get involved.

“We always need the help,” Rhoden said. “We need help swinging hammers, painting, caulking — all kinds of things. If you want to come work on a job site, you can give us a call.”

Groundbreaking for Sweetgrass Preserve is expected to begin in mid-2026, and officials hope to have the first nine families moved in by next December.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — Johns Island is one step closer to welcoming one of its largest affordable housing efforts in years, a project designed to give local families a real path to homeownership.

Currently, the property is marked with Keep Out signs, but that’s expected to change soon. The site could become the entrance to a new neighborhood with roughly 50 affordable homes, covering about 30 acres of land on Back Pen Road and Jimmy Mitchell Lane.

The development is being led by Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. Once Charleston County gives approval, the nonprofit says construction could begin as early as this summer, with the first nine homes on track to be finished by December 2026.

Building all the homes in one location helps the nonprofit work more efficiently, potentially shortening the wait for families hoping to own their own home. More than 100 families are on the waitlist, far exceeding the number of homes planned, but Habitat for Humanity leaders say they are moving as quickly as possible.

Prospective homeowners won’t pay the full market price. Instead, they’ll pay roughly half of what a typical home costs in this part of Johns Island, and they’ll contribute between 300 and 400 volunteer hours, including hammering, painting, and digging footers, as part of the “sweat equity” program.

“We’ve got 17 approved families right now. We’ve checked their backgrounds, credit, work history. And we’ve probably got around a hundred families on the waitlist.” Executive Director John Rhodes said. “They know it takes time, but they’re willing to wait because once it’s done, the home is theirs — on their own lot.”

The planned homes will include a mix of two and three-bedroom homes, with some one-bedroom homes possible. Rhodes says the homes are stick-built, not modular, and meet hurricane safety standards, with quality finishes inside and out.

Through these hundreds of affordable homes, Sea Island Habitat is not just building houses; they’re creating a community for families who were previously displaced, giving them a chance to build equity, stability, and a future. Volunteers note that families who earn their homes through the program often use that stability to make other life investments, like sending their kids to college.

“Families who have built up equity in their home have been able to use the equity in their home to send their kids to college,” volunteer Christopher Ibsen said.

Sea Island Habitat said if the project is approved, work could start next year, with families by the dozens hammering out a path to homeownership.

For families interested in earning a home through volunteer hours, more information is available here.