The Sullivan: Greenville’s biggest affordable housing effort in years opens its doors
May 30, 2024
Community, business and government officials and leaders gathered this morning to unveil The Sullivan, a 180-unit, five building complex that marks Greenville’s latest effort to create more affordable housing.
Housing at The Sullivan includes floor plans with one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom options ranging from 900 to 1,600 square feet, and are reserved for households making below 60% of the area median income, which is approximately $53,000. It is the largest affordable housing project built in Greenville in more than a decade.
The Sullivan is the combined effort of two Upstate organizations that specialize in multifamily affordable housing: Schaumber Development and Douglas Development. Greenville-based NHE is the property manager.
“All projects we work on are unique and special, but The Sullivan really is different,” said Drew Schaumber, a principal with Schaumber Development. “The community offers amenities, quality and convenience, while providing residents with privacy, peace of mind and proximity to great schools.”
Located on 40 acres at 6001 Jacks Lookout Road in the fast-growing Berea community, The Sullivan also features a resident clubhouse with coffee bar, business center, onsite laundry facilities and a fitness center that overlooks a resort-style pool with sundeck, playground and covered picnic and grilling area, as well as an expansive outdoor pet area. Free Wi-Fi internet access will be available to residents in common areas around the clubhouse.
The developers are working with Greenville-based Leadwell 360, LLC, to offer a community social services program at The Sullivan.
“Just one of the unique characteristics of the Sullivan is its on-site community services program,” said Lorain Crowl, programs consultant and owner of Leadwell 360, LLC. “The program is not only designed to assess the needs of the residents and help connect them to community resources like household essentials, financial empowerment classes, job training, and childcare, but to also create events that bring the community together.”
The project was financed through investment from RBC Capital Markets, JPMorgan Chase, Stifel, Prudential and CommunityWorks, as well as 4% bonds and low-income housing tax credits administered by the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority. Progress Carolina served as general contractor on the community with Progress Design as the architects.
“The Sullivan is such an amazing project because this is meeting one of Greenville’s most desperate needs,” said Taylor Davis, NHE’s president and CEO. “This is housing for people who are working and serving as the backbone of the community.”
Data estimates that the Upstate needs more than 10,000 more units of affordable housing than exists currently and priced to be affordable to households earning up to 80% of the area median income.
For aiming to address Greenville’s critical need for housing without sacrificing amenities, location or design, The Sullivan earned the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year, as judged by a local team of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
“We’re happy that The Sullivan provides the Upstate with 180 beautiful new apartment homes that provide so much more than a roof over people’s heads,” said Holly Douglas Schaumber, a principal on the project. “With The Sullivan, we are showing that affordable housing can be high quality and can be created in Greenville.”
About NHE
NHE provides professional association management, apartment management, community development and service coordination to communities across the Southeast, and currently represents more than 18,000 homes, apartments and condominiums in 15 states. NHE’s clients benefit from expertise, experience and leading-edge technology delivered by a dedicated staff offering diverse services to ensure premium performance and value. Actively engaged with national and state industry trade associations and government regulatory bodies, NHE holds the prestigious AMO (Accredited Management Organization) designation through the Institute of Real Estate Management and is a multi-year honoree of Top Workplaces in South Carolina and Best Places to Work. Learn more at nhe-inc.com.
About Schaumber Development
Formed in 2011, Schaumber Development is a real estate development and consulting firm specializing in quality affordable housing. With offices in South Carolina and Maryland, they specialize in new construction and rehabilitation of workforce and affordable housing, as well as structured partnership buyouts. To date, Schaumber Development has developed more than 20 new multifamily communities in the Carolinas exceeding 1,200 apartment homes and rehabbed more than 300 units. Learn more at www.schaumberdevelopment.com.
About Douglas Development
Douglas Development is the longest running affordable housing tax credit development company in South Carolina. The company prides itself on affordable housing construction quality above what is required by statutes and regulations. Equally important to Douglas Development is quality management and tenant selection guidelines — all residents of Douglas properties undergo mandatory background checks ranging from criminal to financial to ensure a quality atmosphere at all of its properties. Combined with these values comes a deep well of experience, which is responsible for the default-free development of more than 80 apartment complexes in four states representing over 5,000 multifamily apartment dwellings, with more than 3,000 of them still owned and managed by the company. Find out more at https://douglasdevelopers.com.
