Community leaders celebrate grand opening of The Pointe at Blythewood
October 11, 2017
Community leaders – including Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross – joined Prestwick Companies to celebrate the grand opening of The Pointe at Blythewood, northeast of Columbia. Made possible through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, this new 56-apartment community helps make well-designed homes affordable for individuals and families in an area with increasing affordable housing needs.
The benefits of The Pointe at Blythewood extend beyond high-quality apartment homes. Its convenient location connects residents to other vital resources, such as commuting corridors, employment centers, and services such as shopping and health care.
“Prestwick is excited to bring high-quality workforce housing to an upper-income area of the state where affordable rental housing is desperately needed,” said Ken Blankenship, chief financial officer for Prestwick. “Our development leased up in less than 60 days, proving the pent-up demand in these types of areas. The development will serve the community for many years to come.”
The need for affordable homes continues to grow in South Carolina: Already one in four of the state’s renter households pays more than half its monthly income for rent. At The Pointe at Blythewood, forty-four of the apartments are affordable to households earning below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), and twelve are reserved for households earning less than 50 percent of AMI.
The development features multiple green elements, including low-flow fixtures, Energy Star vinyl windows, high efficiency heat pumps and water heaters and kitchens with Energy Star appliances.
The homes at The Pointe at Blythewood also include washer/dryer connections, patios/balconies and central air conditioning. The development includes a playground and a community building with management office, central laundry area, community room, computer center and fitness room.
TD Bank, which employs 2,700 people at 62 locations in South Carolina, invested $7.8 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) equity in partnership with Enterprise Community Investment (Enterprise) for this development. Since it was created in 1986, the Housing Credit has financed nearly 3 million affordable apartments, providing homes to roughly 6.5 million low-income households while creating a model public-private partnership.
John Verreault, senior relationship manager at TD Bank, noted, “One of our core beliefs at TD Bank is to ensure people have safe, affordable housing, and we are proud to work with The Pointe at Blythewood to serve South Carolinians. Having a place to call home benefits not only the people living there but the rest of the community, since it allows people to focus on other key parts of life, such as raising a family and finding employment.”
Prestwick, as well as other members of the development team, has extensive experience developing and operating successful family-occupancy projects in South Carolina. Enterprise has partnered with Prestwick on nine developments.
The Pointe at Blythewood also received support from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a flexible and vital source of gap funding that has been used in many Housing Credit-financed developments.
The architects of The Pointe at Blythewood are Studio 8 Architects. The builder was Prestwick Construction Company, and the property will be managed by NHE, Inc.
Enterprise is a proven and powerful nonprofit that improves communities and people’s lives by making well-designed homes affordable. We bring together the nationwide know-how, partners, policy leadership and investments to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Over 35 years, Enterprise has created nearly 470,000 homes, invested $28.9 billion and touched millions of lives. Join us at www.EnterpriseCommunity.org.
