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Gentrification vs. Affordable Housing

Monroe Free
Mike Switzer/SC Public Radio

As more and more cities and towns work to attract more and more affluent residents to their downtown neighborhoods, this process of gentrification is creating a huge demand for affordable housing from it’s displaced residents.  In fact, our next guest says this situation is affecting one in five of his Upstate county citizens and why his organization stays very busy helping with solutions.

Mike Switzer interviews Monroe Free, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greenville, SC.

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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.