Greenville County and the developers of the billion redevelopment plan called County Square are still negotiating with the City of Greenville. While there are still lots of details to hammer out, no doubt all of those will get agreed upon with the possible exception of the City of Greenville’s demand that 10% of the housing be designated at “affordable housing.” The Greenville News has an excellent in-depth article today regarding the County Square project. In addition, there is a follow up story with concerns that neighbors have regarding the redevelopment of their neighborhoods.
This seems like a big reach by the city. Why is it this city councils all across the country feel they can interfere with projects like this and make a claim to get affordable housing. If the city wants affordable housing then collect whatever fee you think is necessary to fund your efforts and go build it elsewhere.
There are lots of places in Greenville to build affordable housing for people that the city can then manage. The developers should ask the city how much money are they looking for and pay them off.