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Does Irmo not have enough asphalt parking lots and big boxes that could be configured into a traditional downtown? One that looks as though it grew organically btw instead of being thrown up overnight.
I don’t think the Town of Irmo actually has much of that in their town limits. I’m actually surprised at how small Irmo is. Looks like it’s basically both Friargates and Lake Murray Blvd down to Irmo Dr.
I don’t think the Town of Irmo actually has much of that in their town limits. I’m actually surprised at how small Irmo is. Looks like it’s basically both Friargates and Lake Murray Blvd down to Irmo Dr.
So Lake Murray Blvd would be the suburb to the downtown?
Does Irmo not have enough asphalt parking lots and big boxes that could be configured into a traditional downtown? One that looks as though it grew organically btw instead of being thrown up overnight.
This is the area in question which seems quite substantial especially if it is all under one ownership. This situation is unfortunate.. economic feasibility aside. I think town leaders missed a real opportunity for true community development. If the owner was not interested in selling.. I would have explored a long term ground lease or some other tool. Seems that the individual/family that owned this land has owned it for a long time, was suspicious of the government trying to "take it" and thus screwing them out of intergenerational wealth.. A ground lease may have been a headache BUT if town was really interested in moving it forward it may have addressed the families concern over losing the property. Making them a partner in the deal may have also worked. The property appears vacant now so it may not be generating anything now other than appreciating in value which is still good from an ownership perspective. Again, others on here may have more experience in real estate development but these are scenarios that I have heard applied in other areas to varying degrees of success.
The second issue may be.. the site seems to split the Lex/Rich County Line with the bulk of the site being in Lexington County and the Park in Richland. I know that Richland County and the City of Columbia have been more open to community development type of redevelopment projects.. not sure about Lexington County and if they are/were expected to play a role in this. I am not saying Lexington County cant or hasnt done it...I just dont know of any.. Example being what Richland is doing with Forest Acres for Richland Mall for example. That is an urban redevelompent project.. Does Lexington have anything similar other than infrastructure, industry etc? I wonder if they had that level of expertise available or if Irmo was on their own. Would involving Lexington County development folks have helped the situation?.. Just random thoughts...
I thought someone on this board was from/lived in Irmo.. I would be curious to know their take on it. I am sure that if the City is spearheading the creation of a downtown.. it will likely use taxpayer dollars in some from. I am sure Irmo is feeling pressure when it comes to downtowns with places like Newberry, Lexington, and now West Columbia all focusing on their small town downtown as a well to lure tourists and residents. I dont get the same small town vibe with irmo though.. It seems to be strictly a suburb as opposed to a town.. which is why I would leave the development to the private sector.
Conversely, Blythewood is also a suburb but unlike Irmo which has been growing since the creation of Harbison and throughout the late 70s through the present.. Blythewood seems to have jumpstarted in the 90s so there is still room to create a downtown a la "town center" before the sprawl catches up or overtakes all the land uses and plan it correctly. Irmo seems like it would be infill or retrofittng older suburban spaces and be more difficult to create.
I dont think we should leave it to the Private sector. if anything if you want a successful Downtown its gonna have to be an actual town center. not a pretend center that's actually just a mall emulating downtown with rules like "No Loitering" aka people hanging out like people would do in a real downtown.
It doesnt need to be 70% parking that will also kill any downtown feel for it. again making it into a fake downtown thats really just a shopping center.
but knowing how Irmo works its more than likely gonna be a glorified Shopping strip with acres of parking no amenities for people to walk or bike there and in 15 years its gonna be mostly empty like Sandhills is today.
Does Irmo not have enough asphalt parking lots and big boxes that could be configured into a traditional downtown? One that looks as though it grew organically btw instead of being thrown up overnight.
So so so so many giant parking lots that can be converted into Mixed Use Centers easily.
I dont think we should leave it to the Private sector. if anything if you want a successful Downtown its gonna have to be an actual town center. not a pretend center that's actually just a mall emulating downtown with rules like "No Loitering" aka people hanging out like people would do in a real downtown.
It doesnt need to be 70% parking that will also kill any downtown feel for it. again making it into a fake downtown thats really just a shopping center.
but knowing how Irmo works its more than likely gonna be a glorified Shopping strip with acres of parking no amenities for people to walk or bike there and in 15 years its gonna be mostly empty like Sandhills is today.
Great points...most downtowns have developed organically over time.. Buildings being built for one use then either being torn down or reused.. varying architecture and uses. Its hard to recreate without it becoming what you described as a "sandhills". Someone maybe able to share where the "sandhills" model has produced a successful downtown.. but they are likely in places that are major transit hubs or in tourist communities.
I see on loopnet that the Royal Motel across from Allen University is for sale. From my understanding this is a historic property and served as lodging for African Americans during segregation. It will be interesting to see who purchases this because it may have to be rehabbed as opposed to demolished so it will be a specialized user that takes this on...
On a related note, I see on the Planning Commission Agenda there is a "use permit" to create a convenience store on the corner of Sunset and North Main. Its a large vacant lot on the SE corner. I suspect that a large gas station is likely in the works... Cant say that its ideal but it may be what the market will bear.
Without reading it, I am going to bet it isn't a positive article about the thriving outdoor style mall full of occupants and promise.
The reason Sandhills went downhill has nothing to do with it being an outdoor mall. The style it has actually appealed to many. It's quite the opposite today because many people prefer to either order online or to be able to pull up to their store of choice instead of having to walk through a mall to get there.
Sandhills went downhill because the owner went bankrupt and he raised the rent so much that no one was willing to pay. He had to sell many of his properties but held on to this one. Now Sandhills has been handed over to a different management company and retailers are slowly coming back. Right now there are many local small business owners that are filling those vacancies as opposed to national chains which is what you'd want if you like to have a town-like environment. I don't have the article but I think pulling small business owners into the mix was by design of the committee appointed to fix the issues there.
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