The National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) is proud to announce our successful closing of financing for the redevelopment of the historic Chicora Graded School in North Charleston, South Carolina. The $37.7 million project will transform the historic and long‑vacant public school building into Cristo Rey, a new college‑preparatory high school serving exclusively low‑income students from across the Charleston region. NTCIC provided $4 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation as well as an equity investment in the $5.5 million federal and $2.75 million South Carolina Historic Tax Credits generated by the rehabilitation. The redevelopment also will utilize $2.8MM of South Carolina’s State Abandoned Building Tax Credits.
Originally constructed in 1935, the Chicora Graded School served the Chicora– Cherokee neighborhood, a community historically tied to employment at the Charleston Navy Yard. For decades, the building functioned as a public elementary school, first as a segregated school for white students and later as a more integrated neighborhood school. The campus expanded multiple times between 1938 and 1955, adding classrooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, and administrative space. Following the closure of the Navy Yard in 1996, the surrounding area experienced significant economic decline and by 2011, the school faced substantial deferred maintenance ultimately leading to its closure.
“NTCIC was thrilled to have the chance to be a part of financing Cristo Rey High School in North Charleston. This school will give students access to a college prep education while giving them valuable work experience and will play a key role in Metanoia’s mission to serve existing residents of North Charleston, which is experiencing rapid growth and gentrification.”
- Tony Maruca
- Senior Project Manager
Upon completion, the former Chicora Graded School will reopen as Cristo Rey High School, a college-preparatory high school designed to serve up to 400 students, all from low‑income households. The school will combine rigorous academics with Cristo Rey’s signature corporate work‑study model, which provides students with paid professional experience, mentorship, and exposure to career pathways while offsetting the cost of tuition. The rehabilitated facility will include modern classrooms, administrative offices, science and technology labs, a cafeteria and commercial kitchen, assembly and gathering spaces, and outdoor areas designed to support both academic instruction and workforce development programming.
“This historic school campus has been the heartbeat of the community for years and we are very excited to be renovating it as a place of opportunity for families in Chicora and beyond to build on their own strengths and release their brilliance.”
- Rev. Bill Stanfield
- CEO of Metanoia
This project has the potential to create meaningful change in one of North Charleston’s most economically distressed neighborhoods. Within the Chicora neighborhood, nearly 40% of residents live in poverty, local schools have historically been underfunded, and graduation and college‑completion rates for students of color in the area lag significantly behind state and regional averages. By reactivating a long‑vacant neighborhood building and expanding access to high‑quality education, the redevelopment strengthens workforce readiness and supports long‑term economic mobility for students and families across the region.
“A school is a promise,” Rev. Stanfield said. “It’s a promise to a community and a promise to its young people.”