El Paso's public housing authority has bought another apartment complex in South Carolina, this time a 312-unit property in North Charleston, for $70.5 million. The purchase of The Scottie, a three-story complex built in 2017 at 3730 Ingleside Blvd, marks the latest move in a rapidly expanding out-of-state real estate strategy by HOME, the agency that manages public housing in El Paso.
The North Charleston property was acquired through Sixteenth Floor Residential Inc., HOME's nonprofit affiliate.
A $400 Million Portfolio Built in 15 Months
HOME established Sixteenth Floor Residential, a tax-exempt nonprofit affiliate, in 2025. Between its founding and August 2026, the affiliate acquired roughly 2,000 apartment units worth approximately $400 million across South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia — a sprawling multi-state portfolio assembled in about 15 months, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Scottie purchase follows a pattern. Sixteenth Floor Residential bought the 290-unit Latitude at Wescott in Summerville, South Carolina, for $64.7 million in June 2026, then the 299-unit Crest at Brier Creek in Raleigh, North Carolina, for $64.4 million in August, per Multi-Housing News. The Wescott deal used tax-exempt bond financing issued through a state development authority. The Crest at Brier Creek acquisition was financed with tax-exempt bonds issued by the National Finance Authority.
Analysts Call the Model a First
What sets HOME apart, according to affordable housing analysts at S&P Global Ratings cited by the Houston Chronicle, is that it appears to be the first public housing authority in the country observed using bond fundraising capabilities and tax exemptions to cross state lines and buy multi-family properties outright. HOME has used the approach to acquire properties outside El Paso. HOME, a 14th-largest public housing authority nationally that was established in 1938 as the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, now manages 99 communities serving more than 52,000 residents after converting its entire traditional public housing portfolio through HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration program, per Multi-Housing News.
El Paso officials have said no local municipal or taxpayer dollars fund the out-of-state deals, which are structured instead to generate non-federal revenue to support housing programs back home, HOME stated in August. The strategy is intended to generate net cash flow to support affordable housing in El Paso.
Pushback in South Carolina
Not everyone in the receiving markets has welcomed the arrangement. In Cayce, South Carolina, municipal leaders raised concerns after Sixteenth Floor Residential bought the 299-unit Otarre Pointe Apartments and notified residents above certain income thresholds that their leases would not be renewed. Cayce Mayor Pro-Tem Phil Carter publicly criticized the housing authority's lack of local communication, according to the Houston Chronicle's reporting. In Cayce, the dispute centered on non-renewals for tenants above the specified income thresholds.
El Paso's Own Housing Gap Persists
The expansion comes as El Paso grapples with its own rental shortage. Municipal assessment data cited by Hoodline showed the city faced projected demand for 2,300 new rental units between 2022 and 2025, with only 740 units under construction at the start of that period. HOME has continued pursuing local projects alongside its Southeast acquisitions, including a 300-unit development on Paisano Drive detailed in Hoodline's earlier coverage of HOME's headquarters redevelopment.
The gap between El Paso's unmet local demand and its housing authority's growing out-of-state footprint has fueled a broader debate over whether public housing agencies should operate as regional investment funds outside their home jurisdictions. The Southeast portfolio is intended to generate net cash flow to support affordable housing in El Paso.
