Kiawah Island’s Only 62+ Life Plan Community Helps Propel Landmark Legislation

Press Release

Kiawah Life Plan Village Inc. (“KLPV”), a not-for-profit organization who announced plans for Seafields at Kiawah Island (“Seafields”) – the first 62+ luxury life plan community at the resort island – in August 2021, is honored to share the completion of General Bill R 223. The bill, which passed with overwhelming support in both Houses of the South Carolina Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster on May 17, 2022, was just finalized after the  South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (the “Department”) finished drafting updated regulations to reflect the change in law and updated the application documents and process. This new legislation will have a profound effect on the South Carolina economy and future housing options for the  state’s senior population, as well as current facilities with plans to expand. 

According to the South Carolina State Plan on Aging 2021 – 2025, South Carolina is the 10th fastest growing state in the country and its senior population is projected to grow by 21.8% between now and  2030 (from 1.19M to 1.45M seniors). With these huge demographic shifts, housing for seniors is becoming an increasing priority. In early 2021, KLPV (aka Seafields) began communicating with the Department regarding KLPV’s intent to submit an application for a Continuing Care Retirement Community (“CCRC”) license. At that time, the CCRC statute enacted by the South Carolina Legislature  was silent about whether the Department was authorized to issue a “preliminary” license to CCRCs  during the development and construction phase. This issue was important because without a  preliminary license, KLPV was unlikely to obtain the permanent financing necessary to finance  construction. But without permanent financing already in place, it would be difficult for the Department to assess KLPV’s financial responsibility as required by the CCRC statute prior to issuing a license. In  other words, the Department and applicants were in a Catch-22. This issue had not come to light  previously because it had been many years since a new CCRC came to South Carolina.

KLPV worked with the Department Administrator, Carri Grube-Lybarker, and her staff in late 2021 to draft legislation amending the CCRC statute to explicitly authorize a two-tiered licensing system, where  an applicant could obtain a preliminary license during the development and construction phase, and  then obtain a final license once the facility was ready for occupancy. The draft legislation also explicitly authorized CCRCs to collect “reservation deposits” prior to obtaining a license, enabling applicants to demonstrate project feasibility to potential investors.

KLPV and the Department next worked with Vickie Moody at Leading Age of South Carolina (a 501(c)(3)  tax-exempt charitable organization focused on education, advocacy, and applied research representing the entire field of aging services), to garner support from Leading Age’s membership for the legislation.

Once the Department, KLPV, and industry stakeholders were all in support of the CCRC legislation, KLPV and the Department Administrator approached the Chairman of the House Labor, Commerce and  Industry Committee, Representative Bill Sandifer, who agreed to sponsor the legislation. Carri Grube Lybarker and KLPV’s representative testified to both the applicable House and Senate subcommittees in support of the legislation.

“It was an honor to participate in the development of this important legislation, alongside such a dedicated group of private and government entities. We worked closely with BRP Senior Housing  Management, LLC — the developer of Seafields known for their deep experience in all aspects of  senior housing development and operation — to help shepherd General Bill R 223 which  

will have a profound effect on the South Carolina economy and future housing options for the  state’s senior population,” said Todd Lillibridge, Chairman, Kiawah Life Plan Village (KLPV).

This new legislation benefits potential senior housing residents because the way the law was previously  written, it was virtually impossible to build any new facilities. Now, it is possible for a community under  development to apply for a preliminary license and then obtain a permanent license upon achieving a  Certificate of Operation. This bifurcated process will help drive more construction projects that will  boost the South Carolina economy as well as create more housing product for seniors, creating both  social and financial stability. It will also enable already existing communities to expand their facilities, a  process that would not have been possible under the previous law. Laws often change following an  avoidable public failure or scandal, but this was a successful example of private and government entities  working together proactively to identify, and solve, an existing problem.

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