State lawmakers call for investigation of county housing authority's sale of 30 houses (2024)

Five state lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority's pending sale of 30 houses.

“Everything about this doesn’t feel right," said Rep. Mark Smith, R-Daniel Island. “We’re in the middle of a housing crisis."

The authority listed the 30 vacant houses for sale in an effort to raise money for other priorities, according to authority CEO Angela Childers. They werecollectively priced at $7.75 million, and the deadline for offers was Aug. 18.

Smith is leading the call for an investigation, saying he was stunned to learn of the sale of the houses from a Post and Courier article.

Smith and House representatives Joe Bustos, Gary Brewer, Tom Hartnett and Joe Jefferson —all from the tri-county — issued a statement Aug. 21 calling for "an immediate and thorough investigation."

The authority previously sold 18 other vacant houses, before Childers became CEO, also to raise money. The housing authority has struggled to fund repairs to the Joseph Floyd Manor high-rise, which houses low-income elderly and disabled residents on the upper Charleston peninsula.

Two prior housing authority CEOs were replaced amid ongoing reports of squalid conditions at Joseph Floyd Manor, and Childers was hired last year.

She said the 30 houses up for sale were vacant and in need of significant repairs long before she was hired.

"The sale of these homes has no buyer restrictions, and the listing agent is the former CEO of the Housing Authority," the lawmakers said. "This raises serious concerns about the management, transparency and long-term impact of this sale on the community."

Carolina One Realtor Karen Gorham is leading the sales team selling the houses. She worked for the housing authority for 17 years, including four as CEO starting in 2012.

Childers told The Post and Courier on Aug. 15 that Gorham won the job through a competitive process. The authority requested proposals, received nine, interviewed four finalists, then decided on Gorham and her associates, Childers said.

In a brief, unsigned written response to the lawmakers demanding an investigation, the housing authority said it looks forward to working with state lawmakers.

"We have had initial conversations with Rep. Mark Smith explaining the extremely poor condition of the properties and housing authority organization that current leadership inherited," the statement said.

"We are excited that through our new CEO, Angela Childers, and board members we can accomplish our mission of providing affordable housing in the Charleston community," it continued. "The sale of the thirty housing assets, and investing those proceeds into new affordable measures, is just one step in that goal."

Smith said he's not entirely clear what authority the state has to investigate or regulate the county housing authority, but he plans to find out. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, which oversees housing authorities, earlier gave its permission for the sale, according to the Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

“The people of Charleston County deserve to know why public assets are being sold off and how this decision will impact their access to affordable housing," Smith and the other four lawmakers said in their statement. "We will pursue these questions aggressively and will not rest until we have full transparency and accountability from the Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority."

After seeing the authority's response and talking to Childers, Smith said he was encouraged by the response and looks forward to the lawmakers' concerns being addressed.

Gorham declined to comment.