beth@thedanielislandnews.com

Plans for a new senior affordable housing complex at the corner of Seven Farms Drive and Daniel Island Drive call for a 42 unit building to be placed near the tree line at the side of the lot.  The complex, a Humanities Foundation initiative, will join the existing 305 Seven Farms Drive apartment community.

Architectural renderings for a proposed senior affordable housing complex on Daniel Island received conceptual approval by the City of Charleston Commercial Corridor Design and Review Board (CCDRB) on November 12. While the board accepted the designs presented by Palmetto Architectural Group of Greenville and The Tomblin Company of Charleston, the firms hired by the Humanities Foundation, members imposed certain stipulations with their approval.

Plans for the new "Seven Farms Village" need to be simplified a bit, said board member Ashley Jennings, and should also include more windows, more trees in the buffer, proper consideration for signage, and further study of the entry element. Humanities Foundation staffer Michael Mansson, who was present at the hearing, asked the CCDRB to consider streamlining the approval process by allowing city staff members to follow up with final details.

"We have financial deadlines that we need to hit in obtaining money from the state, from our lenders," stated Mansson to the board. "I am respectfully requesting that it is taken into consideration from the board to have staff be able to provide preliminary and final approval…to help make the process a little quicker to save a few weeks."

The board consented to Mansson’s request. The new 42-unit building, to be located on the corner of Seven Farms Drive and Daniel Island Drive, will be part of the existing 305 Seven Farms affordable housing complex created by the Humanities Foundation. The majority of the one-bedroom units will be made available to seniors living at 60 percent of the area median income. Planned amenities include a fully equipped kitchen, ceiling fans in living rooms and bedrooms, central air, wall-to-wall carpeting, a fitness room with equipment, laundry room, elevator and gazebo.

According to Tracy Doran, president of the Humanities Foundation, construction on the proposed complex is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

"We are also still working on finalizing the financing for the project and going through city reviews," she said.