The neighborhood has several councils focused on improving the community through fundraising and getting residents involved, including the Liberty Hill Improvement Council, Liberty Hill Redevelopment Group and the Liberty Hill Historical and Genealogical Society.
The first phase focused on critical home repairs for elderly or low-income residents. The redevelopment group completed 53 home repair projects, such as roof repairs, window replacements and yard debris clearing. The City of North Charleston contributed a $40,000 donation for the repairs, and Charleston County invested a $500,000 grant to improve the homes.
But the project is ongoing — nearly 80 homes total were identified as in need of these types of repairs.
While the repairs eased a burden for Liberty Hill residents, Mitchell said the efforts might not be noticeable to folks outside the community.
“Unless we drove around and showed you each one, you would not know that we’ve done it because it’s throughout the community,” Mitchell said.
Valarie Harper Young stands in front of a map of the Liberty Hill neighborhood in the Liberty Hill Improvement Council office in North Charleston on March 23, 2023.
Community leaders hope the next phase — building up the business corridor — will bring the “wow” factor.
Still in its early stage, phase two involves bringing at least 16 businesses to the area, including a visitors center, grocery store and assisted-living facility. Beautification projects, such as adding palmetto trees and vegetation, and replacing chain-linked fences with wrought-iron ones, are also part of the plan. This phase also includes a food truck and vendor park to encourage community-wide events.
Phase three encompasses building affordable homes on the 240 vacant lots in the community, but this final phase of the plan is several years down the road.
An overarching goal of the revitalization plan is to make sure the fiber of the community stays intact, Young said. Liberty Hill is in the middle of the three-year process to be put on the National Register of Historic Places list.
