Not entirely a new thought though!
Issue #21.52 :: 12/24/2008 - 12/30/2008Is Chapin the New Irmo?Population, Other Changes Point to ShiftBY AL DOZIER
Is Chapin the new Irmo?
What’s happening about 7 miles up Interstate 26 from Irmo is similar to what happened a couple of decades ago as people moved into new neighborhoods in Irmo along Broad River Road.
It’s a good model.
Irmo is a landmark suburb of Columbia. It is home to Irmo High School, a link to the Lake Murray dam and waterfront homes.
It’s busy.
Columbiana Mall is much closer to Irmo than downtown Columbia. Traffic jams are the norm on weekends in the Harbison area.
Irmo has great schools that often lead the state in test scores.
It is the home of the Okra Strut, a festival that attracts about 50,000 people each year. In 2007, Money magazine named Irmo the country’s 12th most affordable town.
But some believe that Irmo is getting old, especially when considering the town’s school attendance figures.
Lexington-Richland School District 5 officials say student enrollment is declining in Irmo schools. The district’s enrollment growth is occurring in the Dutch Fork-Chapin area where new schools are in the works after voters approved a $143.5 million bond referendum in the Nov. 4 elections.
Irmo-area school enrollment is down from last year by 286 students. By contrast, Chapin-area attendance is up by 61 students and the Dutch Fork attendance area has grown by 72 students.
Planners say Irmo will experience modest growth during the next five years, reaching a population of about 12,000, an addition of some 300 residents from the 2007 count of 11,613.
But the makeup of the population is changing.
Many young families that moved into the community in the 1980s and ‘90s had children who have grown up and moved on. The average household size was a little more than three in 1990, but is expected to drop to 2.7 by 2012.
And there will be a lot more seniors in Irmo.
The town’s elderly population (65 and older) increased by 90 percent from 1990 to 2000 and that trend is expected to continue, according to a report by the Central Midlands Council of Governments. The elderly, who made up 2 percent to 5 percent of the population in the 1990s, will account for more than 7 percent in 2012.
Evidencing that demographic shift: Many of Irmo’s new residential developments in recent years have been condos and patio homes that appeal to empty nesters, according to Town Administrator John Hanson. He says Irmo has a lot to offer senior citizens: moderately priced housing, no property taxes and all of the services they need.
“We haven’t taken it up with [Town] Council but marketing for senior citizens might be a good idea,” Hanson says.
Chapin is just minutes away from Irmo. It’s not nearly the size of Irmo, with a population of not quite 900. But since 2000 the Chapin population has grown by a whopping 39 percent.
Lauran Howell, vice president of the Chapin Chamber of Commerce, says the town has some appealing draws. “Families come here for the schools,” Howell says. “Retirees come for the lake.”
The chamber’s top priority is to alleviate traffic problems on Columbia Avenue, a busy connector to Chapin from I-26.
Popular spots in the Chapin area include the Timberlake golf course, Crooked Creek Park and Billy Dreher Island, which offers a lakeside setting for picnicking, fishing and boating.
Chapin resident Kim Murphy, a community activist who is often critical of District 5 construction plans, says the Chapin area is a good place to live with a “small-town appeal,” quality schools and a lakefront draw to retirees.
But Murphy says the school district should put more emphasis on renovating schools rather than building new ones. And she says those that are built should not be too far away from the central population area.
A true picture of development in the Irmo-Chapin area is not complete without including the unincorporated area known as Ballentine, just outside Irmo town limits.
As Irmo annexed close-by areas, including the site of a new Wal-Mart, some Ballentine residents decided it was time to incorporate and protect themselves before their neighborhoods are gobbled up by Irmo or Columbia annexations.
An incorporation vote was easily defeated in 2007 but a new effort is in the works.
It targets a smaller area where supporters say it would have a better chance of success. Meanwhile, development is expected to continue between Irmo and Chapin, and beyond.
Twenty years from now the new Chapin might be the next town up I-26, Little Mountain.
Is Chapin the New Irmo?
