VOLUME 13 NUMBER 10 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
Part of the
JULY 20-AUGUST 16, 2020 ■ $2.25
network
Nephron growing Pharmaceutical company plans $215.8M expansion. Page 2
Take me out ... oh
Minor League Baseball sees 2020 season canceled. Page 3
Otarre Pointe
Cayce land site of planned mixed-use development. Page 4
HOME SWEET HOME?
Affordable housing scarce for many in S.C. Photo/File
Eviction worries
Expiration of moratorium looming for renters. Page 34
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 In Focus: Residential Real Estate.........................29 List: Mortgage Companies...33 At Work...............................37 Viewpoint............................39
By Christina Lee Knauss
C
Contributing writer
OLUMBIA — Nearly every day of the week, the phone rings in Alisa Mosley’s Columbia office. On the other end is someone looking for help finding an affordable place to live. Mosley’s job as executive director of the Affordable Housing Coalition of South Carolina makes her seem like the logical person to call for someone in need, but all she can do is
offer advice on where to look. The calls, however, never stop coming. “Our group does policy and advocacy work, but I get calls every day from people looking for housing and reaching out to us trying to find it. It’s constant,” Mosley said. “It’s a constant problem in this state. I get calls from people in cities. There’s a huge problem in rural areas. I also get calls from seniors looking for housing, especially along the coast where wealthier retirees can often afford housing and those on a fixed income can’t. The
Icons & Phenoms
The Columbia Regional Business Report salutes its 2020 class of business and community leaders. Page 15
need out there is just so much greater than the number of units available in this state.” Mosley and her organization are on the front lines of an ongoing fight to get more access to affordable housing for people across South Carolina. It’s a battle that’s not unique to the state. Nationwide, no state has enough affordable rental housing for the lowest income renters, and the situation is not much better for those with slightly higher incomes, See HOUSING, Page 32