Specifications include, but are not limited to: 1. Improve housing affordability: The City of Charleston is facing a housing affordability crisis. In 2014, the City and its surrounding counties conducted a Housing Needs Assessment that revealed a range of challenges: approximately 33% of homeowners and 50% of renters in the region spent more than 30% of their income on housing (HUD’s threshold for affordability), 69% of the region’s population did not live near public transportation and the majority of employment opportunities were located in areas where housing was least affordable.2 In the years since this assessment, despite a resurgence of housing construction, housing supply has not kept pace with the City’s population growth. 3 The deficit of affordable housing is compounded by the fact that this redevelopment area has also been a receiving area for residents that were displaced from another area. Furthermore, the redevelopment site is located near Downtown Charleston in an area that has experienced rapid gentrification over the past 10 years. 2. Mitigate flooding and other environmental / site challenges: The Eastside neighborhood experiences severe flooding that affects resident health and mobility as well as property values. The CRBRA itself sits between 3 and 6 feet of elevation above sea-level and is highly floodprone. Yet the capacity of the current drainage infrastructure in the neighborhood is insufficient to meet standard storm water management requirements. The City is actively considering both neighborhood-wide and site-specific solutions to improve the quality of life for current and future residents as well as to de-risk future development. For example, the utility lines adjacent to the site require undergrounding. In addition to flooding, the presence of underground concrete pile caps at the development site and other environmental issues may necessitate significant investment in site preparation. As a brownfield site, the developer should consider the presence of soil contaminants when proposing on-site drainage solutions. Specifically, any proposed on-site drainage solution should mitigate hazardous runoff that flows down the area’s elevation gradient to other properties during flooding. 3. Re-knit the neighborhood: The CRBRA offers an opportunity to create greater community connection on the Eastside. The housing development will be bordered by a linear park along Lee Street on the North and a bicycle path on Cooper Street on the South, which will provide a critical East-West connection with the Lowline corridor at Meeting Street. The design of the development should therefore seek a balance between maximizing affordability through density and urban form that will activate communal spaces.