GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – More affordable housing will be making its way to Greenville. Monday night city leaders agreed to allow for future developments in the downtown area.

At the Greenville Housing Fund, Advocacy and Community Engagement Manager Tina Belge said affordable housing is an uphill battle.

“We have a workforce that really struggles to find attainable housing,” said Belge.

In an effort to fix the issue, city council voted unanimously Monday night to donate 19 parcels of land near Unity Park, valued at nearly $8-million, to create more affordable housing. Plans for two of the sites are currently being finalized, one of which will be housing for seniors.

“The other sites are going to be a mix of affordable housing and workforce housing,” said Belge.

Belge said to make it affordable, that means only 30-percent of income would go toward housing. With lack of supply in Greenville, that creates more demand.

“How are we dealing with folks who are being displaced? And gentrification pressures and all these things happening in our neighborhoods?” asked Belge. “People have been here for generations.”

 Belge said the city is responding to those questions.

“They said we’re committed to affordable housing. We’re going to make it happen,” Belge said. “And we’re delivering on that for the city.”

Affordable housing is one of the main focuses for the Greenville 2040 Comprehensive Plan, an outline for what city leaders want Greenville to look like in 20 years.

“It looks like having a park that’s close enough that you can walk to it. It looks like a place where you don’t need a car,” City Spokesperson Beth Brotherton said. “It’s a place where people of all different incomes can afford to live within the city limits.”

She said the city views these properties as a long-term investment.

“Prime real estate where we can build houses for our seniors, for our young people, for folks who might not make that much money yet,” said Brotherton.

These homes would provide access to all that Greenville has to offer, which according to Brotherton, is only going to get better.

No word yet on when construction will begin. To learn more about the city’s comprehensive plan, click here.