More than 300 new affordable homes, apartments could be coming to Irmo’s doorstep
A new development of more than 300 homes could be coming to Irmo if it receives approval from the town council. Neighbors are expressing concerns about what a development of that size will mean to them.
The planned development would combine a maximum of 200 apartments with 90 duplex units and 40 single-family detached homes, according to documents filed with the Irmo Planning Commission.
American Community Developers are seeking a rezoning that will allow them to build on 67 acres off of Shady Grove Road between Broad River Road and Interstate 26. The area is currently a largely wooded area with a pond, and the new housing would share a property line with the Caedmon’s Creek neighborhood.
But neighbors to the property are raising concerns about how a new development will impact traffic on an already busy stretch of road.
“I made a quick petition Friday morning, and it’s gotten over 1,100 signatures on the thing in the last six days,” said Bryan Murdaugh, who lives directly across Shady Grove from what would be the entrance to the new development.
Murdaugh primary concern is traffic. Dutch Fork High School is about two miles up the road, and traffic can back up at the end of the school day as students head back into town.
“It is a nightmare to get onto the main road,” he said, and he hopes the town will hold off on approval until the results of a traffic study are available. “Apparently that’s not a requirement to move forward to town council, but it just seems backwards to me.”
Planning documents say the new development will be affordable housing, targeted to residents at or below the area median income.
The apartments in particular will “serve working individuals and families employed within the local and regional economy, including teachers, healthcare workers, first responders, municipal employees, retail employees, hospitality workers, skilled tradespeople, and similar occupations,” the submission says.
The income restrictions must last for at least 30 years after construction. Meanwhile, the duplexes will be restricted to senior housing — limited to residents aged 55 and older — and the single-family homes will be sold at market rate, the developer said.
In addition to housing, the development will include a clubhouse, pool and walking trails, with additional space available to include a pickleball court, playground, fitness area and dog park.
In 2024, the area was zoned for a planned volleyball training center with retail space and a hotel. That plan never materialized, but the area is still labeled as a “neighborhood center” in Irmo planning documents.
“(T)he proposed use of apartments, duplexes, and single family detached residential is largely in keeping with the allowable uses conceived in the Neighborhood Center designation,” town staff wrote in the proposal for the planning commission, finding it to be more compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and would produce less peak-hour traffic than the previously approved use. “The primary difference is the lack of commercial operations. Staff finds the area on Shady Grove to be a better fit for residential than commercial in the absence of the volleyball training facility.”
Murdaugh said he’s not opposed to more development in the area, but would like to see something smaller move in across the street.
“For people I’ve had conversations with over the past week, they understand the growth is coming,” he said. “They understand they have to do that, but while we’re doing this, let’s just take a beat and make good choices about how.”
Irmo Planning Commission gave its approval to the Shady Grove development on May 11, and the developer is hosting a public information session at Irmo Town Hall from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18. Irmo Town Council will still need to approve the zoning for the site in two separate sessions.
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