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Bennettsville's Affordable Housing: LIHTC Impact on a Declining Population
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Bennettsville, a city in South Carolina, has a significant presence of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing. The city's LIHTC inventory comprises 278 total units, with 170 designated as low-income units. Based on the 2022 population of 12,129 and using the national average household size, Bennettsville has an estimated 4,647 housing units. LIHTC-funded affordable housing units represent approximately 6% of the estimated total housing inventory in the city.
Bennettsville has received $3,427,986 in project tax credits through the LIHTC program. With approximately 9 projects, this translates to an average of $380,887 in federal funding per project. The average federal funding amounts to $12,331 per unit. Bennettsville holds 0.88% of South Carolina's total LIHTC funding, indicating a significant allocation for a city of its size.
The city's involvement with LIHTC-funded affordable housing began in 1991 with the Marlboro Place Apts I project and continued through 2018 with the completion of Bennetts Pointe. This 27-year span demonstrates a long-term commitment to affordable housing in Bennettsville. The decade of 2010-2019 saw the most activity, with four projects completed in 2010 alone, including Bennettsville Green Apts and two phases of Glenfield Apts.
The LIHTC-funded housing stock in Bennettsville is diverse, with a predominance of one-bedroom units (175), followed by two-bedroom units (90), and a smaller number of three-bedroom units (13). This distribution suggests a focus on accommodating smaller households and families.
Over the past decade, Bennettsville has experienced a decline in population, from 14,310 in 2015 to 12,129 in 2022. Despite this decrease, the median income has shown some fluctuation but overall growth, rising from $32,404 in 2015 to $33,717 in 2022. The racial composition of the city has remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease in the Black population (from 65% to 61%) and a small increase in the White population (from 26% to 30%) between 2015 and 2022.
The completion of Bennetts Pointe in 2018 suggests that despite the population decline, there was still a recognized need for affordable housing in the community. This could be attributed to factors such as changing household compositions or a desire to replace older housing stock with newer, more efficient units.
Bennettsville's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory represents a significant investment in the community, covering about 6% of the estimated housing stock. The city has maintained a consistent approach to developing affordable housing over nearly three decades, with a particular focus in the 2010s. While the population has decreased, the continued investment in affordable housing through 2018 indicates an ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of low-income residents. The diversity in unit types suggests an effort to accommodate various household sizes within the affordable housing framework.
