The long-vacant Henry P. Archer School is being redeveloped into 89 affordable senior housing units in Charleston, South Carolina.

The nonprofit Humanities Foundation purchased Archer School from the Charleston County School Board in 2020 with funds from the city’s Affordable Housing Bond Fund. The CLIMB fund also provided additional funds to help cover pre-development costs.

“It seems like everything we’ve done has prepared us for the work we’re doing right now on the Eastside,” said Tracy Doran, president of the Humanities Foundation. “We look forward to providing 89 beautiful, affordable seniors apartments in a true community landmark and thank our many funding partners and team members for coming together to make Archer Apartments a reality.”

The South Carolina-based nonprofit, in joint venture with James Doran Co., has begun construction and plans to complete the remarkable project in early 2024.

“We are grateful to our partner, the Humanities Foundation, for supporting the $42 million rehabilitation of the former Archer School to convert the building into affordable housing for our senior population,” Charleston Mayor said. , John Tecklenburg. “Repurposing a building that has stood empty for more than 20 years and creating 89 affordable rental units to serve our aging population is a win-win-win situation for the City of Charleston.”

Conservationists fought previous attempts to demolish the 1930s school, according to local reports.

Funding partners include the City of Charleston, Red Stone Equity Partners, Sugar Creek Capital, Chase, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, Charleston Redevelopment Corp., South Carolina Housing and the City of Charleston Housing Authority.

Chase provided $31 million in construction financing – $23 million in tax-exempt bonds and $8 million in taxable bonds.

“With the continued demand for affordable housing, the 89 new safe, stable, quality senior homes that will result from the redevelopment of the former Henry P. Archer School will be a valuable addition to the Charleston community,” the development said. Chase community. banking vice president Caitlin Gossens.

In addition to creating housing for the elderly, the Humanities Foundation is preserving a historically important part of the city, added Darren T. Swanson, managing director of acquisitions at Red Stone Equity Partners.

“The need for quality, affordable housing has never been greater than it is now,” Swanson said. “At the same time, it has never been harder to build new communities in light of rising interest rates and rising costs due to global supply chain issues and inflationary pressures. global.”

Development partners include JDC Management, Martin Riley and Associates, Bello Garris Architects, Design Works, Forsberg Engineering and Surveying, ECS Southeast and Trident Construction.