U.S. News and World Report recently named Spartanburg, South Carolina the 12th fastest growing place in the country. This growth has put more pressure on an already strained supply of affordable housing, putting homeownership further out of reach for many longtime Black residents. With support from LISC Upstate South Carolina, Oak and Ave Property Group – a Black-owned housing developer and full-service brokerage – is helping more families realize their goal of homeownership.
Image Above: Staff from Oak and Ave Property Group join new homeowner Arthur Moore (second from the left) at the closing on his first home purchase.
Arthur Moore bought his first home earlier this year at the age of 73. He couldn’t wait to leave his cramped apartment and move into his newly remodeled two-bedroom, two-bath home in the Northside neighborhood of Spartanburg, South Carolina, a city where he has spent most of his life.
Moore had long dreamed of buying a home, but a purchase was always out of reach. That all changed when he met the team at Oak and Ave Property Group, a LISC Upstate South Carolina partner. The Black-owned housing developer and full-service brokerage connects aspiring homeowners like Moore to an assortment of tools – such as homebuyer training, financial education, credit repair and downpayment assistance – to help them realize their goal of homeownership.
“They were like family to me, helping me out in every detail in order for me to make the provisions of having a home for myself,” said Moore, of the Oak and Ave Property Group staff, who assisted him in buying the home with no money out of pocket at closing. “I’m so happy.”
Moore is one of 60 Spartanburg residents who became homeowners with help from Oak and Ave Property Group, founded in 2021 by Christopher “CeeJ” Jefferson and his wife, Amber. There is a huge need for Oak and Ave Property Group’s services in Spartanburg, a city of more than 38,000 people that U.S. News and World Report recently named the 12th fastest growing place in the country, citing its beautiful landscape, rich history and dynamic food scene, among other assets.
This accelerated growth, says Jefferson, puts more pressure on an already strained supply of affordable housing. What’s more, people new to Spartanburg are increasingly buying homes in low-wealth neighborhoods, putting homeownership further out of reach for Black residents whose roots in the city go back many generations.
“We want to make sure that the folks who live here, who are from here, who have been here, have an equitable opportunity to play the game of homeownership,” said Jefferson, a North Carolina native who found his way to Spartanburg after meeting his wife at Clemson University, where he played football and where his oldest daughter will enroll as a freshman this fall.
Before starting Oak and Ave Property Group, Jefferson worked for the local school district as a parent facilitator dealing with student truancy. As he connected with families to get students back on track, Jefferson realized that a root cause of truancy was often inadequate living conditions. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced the school district to shift to remote learning, Jefferson began to spend more time with the pastor at his church, James White Jr., an experienced general contractor and owner of James White Enterprises LLC. As he visited housing construction sites around the city with White, the idea for Oak and Ave Property Group was born.
“In doing my research, I started learning that education and the ability to be educated ties a lot into your housing situation. And I had a vision. I can make an impact if we can figure out housing,” said Jefferson.
LISC Upstate South Carolina stepped up to help Jefferson bring his vision to life by providing capital, expertise, and validation.
“My approach to any developer is to learn more about their projects and their business model, how they operate, and really their heart for doing this work,” said Dawn Deck, executive director of LISC Upstate South Carolina, which advances its affordable housing strategy with support from TD Bank. “CeeJ [Jefferson] is excited about connecting resources and building homes so that families that ordinarily would not have access to a safe, affordable place to live now have access because of the work that he's doing.”
LISC provided a $730,000 affordable revolving loan to Oak and Avenue Property Group to accelerate its development pipeline. Initially, Jefferson used the loan to work with White to build four new homes. The duo has since recycled the capital to build five additional homes, all sold to longtime Spartanburg residents looking to build wealth through homeownership.
“The LISC loan has been the key factor to how we've been able to do what we've done,” said Jefferson.
The relationships Deck brokered for Oak and Avenue Property Group are just as important as the capital.
“Dawn has been an advocate and a convener to other resources and collaborators,” said Jefferson. “To have the opportunity to even show the excellence that we bring doesn't happen without someone in the room believing in you.”
As LISC opened doors for Jefferson, he developed relationships with the City of Spartanburg and Northside Development Group to secure downpayment assistance resources for buyers and to acquire building lots at free or reduced cost, which helps keep the homes he builds with White affordable. He found trusted lenders willing to work with downpayment assistance, bond loans and other resources designed to lower costs for purchasers. In addition, Jefferson launched a nonprofit arm, Oak and Ave Impact, to tap into additional public and private resources for homebuyers that are not available to for-profit companies.
For a prospective buyer, Jefferson’s team of eight realtors are the heart of the operation. The realtor performs an intake process to create a plan tailored to a buyer’s needs and circumstances, including the educational and financial resources available through Oak and Ave Impact. Once approved for a mortgage, the realtor takes the buyer on a home search and helps close the purchase.
“The clients might not even be ready [to purchase] for 12 months and that's okay with us,” said Jefferson. “We'll do what a lot of other brokerages don't and that's holding your hand all the way through this process.”
The group is now poised to undertake larger development projects that will significantly scale its impact as a developer. Jefferson credits LISC’s Deck for helping the organization get where it is today. For her part, Deck sees Oak and Ave Property Group as a model she can point to as she supports other emerging developers in the area, with assistance from a new grant to LISC from Wells Fargo.
“Oak and Avenue’s approach just speaks to what can happen when you join with a more established developer, learn at the very basic level with a small project and basically repeat,” said Deck. “That's exactly what they're doing. Once they complete one project, they're moving on to the next, and each project is becoming larger.”
And combine this savvy development approach with a resource center for aspiring homeowners and you have a recipe for success.
Said Deck, “Oak and Ave has a full-service program and I can see how it’s truly increasing homeownership among Black families in Spartanburg.”