South Carolina Business Review

$50 million affordable housing initiative launched in the Lowcountry

By Mike Switzer

Published December 5, 2025 at 6:30 AM EST

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Jason Brown, Vice President, Investor Relations, and External Affairs with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Affordable housing continues to be an issue across the country and our state. You heard from us recently about an initiative from the state housing authority and now we’ve learned of another one from our next guest’s Lowcountry organization. $50 million dollars for Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties. Mike Switzer interviews Jason Brown with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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