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Out of all the renderings they listed on their site, we 100% without a doubt get a clone of the type of archectire like the Verve in Columbus, Ohio lol
This is a a story about Irmo's attempt to create a downtown area that was rebuffed by the affected property owners. Couple of things
1) If this was a true community planning and visioning process.. these owners would have been engaged and maybe could have been bought into the process as opposed to feeling blindsided or.. they would have not supported it and the process would have looked at alternatives.
2) Irmo being Irmo... is there really a need for a "downtown" given the area is surrounded by commercial and residential development. Seems like the private sector would create its own "town center" if it felt there was demand or market for it. At a minimum.. the Town could have simply created the vision, identified the area.. then stepped back and let the private sector and the natural forces of capitalism take its course. It notes that most of these owners were African American who were afraid of their property being snatched away from them. THis is rooted in history in which the government used eminent domain to do just that or gentrification causes a sharp increase in property taxes which makes it difficult for some to keep their property. In this case I doubt the government would do such action as there are laws and have been lawsuits to prevent local governments from taking property unless its for a public purpose and even then they must pay market value and possibly legal fees. In terms of gentrification.. this is raw land so the taxes could go up so that may be an issue...but I dont know much about tax assessments in irmo and how that works
At any rate.... maybe they can look at another area and work with willing property owners and developers to plan a downtown if that is the community wide vision
This is a a story about Irmo's attempt to create a downtown area that was rebuffed by the affected property owners. Couple of things
1) If this was a true community planning and visioning process.. these owners would have been engaged and maybe could have been bought into the process as opposed to feeling blindsided or.. they would have not supported it and the process would have looked at alternatives.
2) Irmo being Irmo... is there really a need for a "downtown" given the area is surrounded by commercial and residential development. Seems like the private sector would create its own "town center" if it felt there was demand or market for it. At a minimum.. the Town could have simply created the vision, identified the area.. then stepped back and let the private sector and the natural forces of capitalism take its course. It notes that most of these owners were African American who were afraid of their property being snatched away from them. THis is rooted in history in which the government used eminent domain to do just that or gentrification causes a sharp increase in property taxes which makes it difficult for some to keep their property. In this case I doubt the government would do such action as there are laws and have been lawsuits to prevent local governments from taking property unless its for a public purpose and even then they must pay market value and possibly legal fees. In terms of gentrification.. this is raw land so the taxes could go up so that may be an issue...but I dont know much about tax assessments in irmo and how that works
At any rate.... maybe they can look at another area and work with willing property owners and developers to plan a downtown if that is the community wide vision
Great idea. I have complaints but I'm not gonna say what they are because you know exactly what I'm gonna say
Great idea. I have complaints but I'm not gonna say what they are because you know exactly what I'm gonna say
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.
On a totally unrelated note.. I see that Richland II is getting a new super. I wonder if she will push/explore consolidation which was one of the recommendations from the report commission under Mayor Steve that was looking at the challenges with development in Richland County due to tax rates linked to how both School Districts levy taxes against residents in their district. If I recall correctly it recommended consolidation. This happened in Sumter with the consolidation of District #17 and #2 into one district in part because District #17 was growing rapidly and District #2 seemed stagnant. If Sumter were a donut.. District #17 would be the hole surrounded by #2. Additionally.. #17 was the "preferred" district thus as land for new development was running out in #17 it would come to a hault unless something happened with #2. This was one of the reasons for consolidation so that school boundaries could be changed around independently of district boundaries.
I say that to say. I am a firm believer that northern Richland County that is in Richland #1 and in the Eau Claire Zone.. (Monticello, Fairfield Rd) and around Columbia International Univ. will not develop. If the districts are merged and this area is zoned for Blythewood and Westwood Zones.. that area would explode.. That along with the extension of Clemson Road over the Broad River to Harbison would be a revenue boon to Richland County. Without that.. growth will stagnate and even flee to Lexington and Kershaw County.
So I want to see if the business community and certain school leaders jump on board with consolidation
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 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.
It’s me, and I personally think the whole idea is both good and stupid at the same time. I have an Irmo address but downtown Columbia would be only an extra 5 minutes from me then where they had proposed this one to go. But at the same time. A central meeting place promotes the idea of community in a town and that helps with everything from crime to schools.
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