Overveiw of "St Andrews" area (St. Andrews, Irmo: sales, apartments)

[Savagedre313]

How is this area compared to the rest of the city, how is the crime and what areas to avoid?

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by Savagedre313

How is this area compared to the rest of the city, how is the crime and what areas to avoid?

The Broad River Road corridor gets a bad rap, but that's not to say there are no nice, clean neighborhoods in the area. You just have to look around. A lot of St. Andrews isn't in the city limits, not that that has any bearing on crime.

[TXGamecock]

St. Andrews was part of the first-ring suburban development, and has since experienced a period of decay as more affluent folks moved further out or back downtown.

I wouldn't characterize it as unsafe, but I would say it's a lower-income area of town, with lots of lower-end apartments. Property crime is more of a concern in that area then say, Lexington or Irmo, but it's not the "wild west" either. I've never really heard much of random violence being a huge concern.

[Woodlands]

If St. Andrews were a City..its population would be nearly 20,000 making it a good size city by SC Standards. I say that to say, just as those above have commented.. its a fairly large community and the good and bad parts break down to various sections. St Andrews stretchs out along Bush River Road, Broad River Road and St. Andews Roads which all are several miles from the river on west towards Harbison. St. Andrews is composed of probably more than a dozen neighborhoods/subdivisions. The "bad" parts of St. Andrews are fewer and usually near older complexes but that has driven the rep of the area.. unfortunately...since many of the good parts are non descript in terms of character or age which thus puts them in the background behind some of the "negative" sections.

Broad River and portions of Bush River have a few dive bars/clubs that have been know to cause problems and impacted its reputation along with some Convenience Stores have been the sites of robberies of both customers and employees because of the very accessible nature to highways and proximity to a few of these "bad" complexes/areas..I would agree that property crimes are probably higher than violent crime with the exception of aforementioned clubs/bars.. I recall in the 90s that Applebees on Broad River used to become the magnet for Friday night partiers who would cruise up and down from there to Dutch Square causing quite the traffic jam.. After hours gathering spots was the Waffle House right across the street. Throw in a couple of cheap motels and girls on the backs of motorcyles and viola.. it was really "Broad" (1940s sailor term for a woman) River... It didnt help that a few clubs sponsored major events and those who could not get in just joined in the milieu on the main drag. Eventually the County shut most of the places down and a few high profile busts (not breasts) curbed the Bike Week like festivities.....

The County has a plan to revitalize portions of St Andrews to include investing millions of dollars in road improvement projects if the 1 cent sales tax passes. The area is still a major transportation network which contributed to its growth as a suburb. I think the area around Dutch Square and on the inside of I-20 will increase in appeal because of its accessibility.. northwest of I-20 out to Harbison and along I-26 will be challenged in a few areas.. along St Andrews Road and Bush River should also remain stable as well.