shahram72

If this is part of the chain from Florida, I welcome it. It was good most of the time and they had great specials and it was just a fun place to meet up. It's definitely a Florida type place, with the fishing decor, but it's also a sports bar. In Florida, however, they were named by the individual cities, not the states, so it should be named Irmo Ale House, leaving room for a Columbia Ale house, Lexington Ale House, etc. That's how it is in Florida. It may be that one or more of those names is already take. I plan on checking it out when it opens. I hope it is the same chain. I know you guys hate chains, but this was small business in FL not long ago.

After seeing those photos I was agreement until I found out they were rentals. They are more than adequate for moderately priced rentals. The exposed plumbing and structure overhead is cool tho. I think it shows the nature of the building you are actually in. I like that part.

Wow! $96,000 is about the limit of my comfort level with a mortgage, and I would hardly call myself poor or low-income.

I just took the family to Greenville to go to the Zoo and check it out this Saturday. It was a fun day trip. The zoo was small, but nice and free cause we have a Riverbanks pass(Atlanta only gave me 50% off). The BMW museum in Greer was closed and I was very disappointed about that. So we went downtown. WOW! I hope that is where we are headed. So many familes strolling the streets in downtown. The trees made it beautiful. And Reedy park, well it is the most beautiful park I have ever seen. We ate lunch at the restarant there, which really helped to make it a destination. Not like New Orleans Restaurant, which is just mediocre food at high prices. Not knocking Columbia, but they have really got it right over there. The news of SCANA is not good, but we have much development on the way. I hope that the development is conducive to bringing familes (and others) to hang out there, and not just residents. The residents only will not make it thrive like what I saw in Greenville. Downtown Greenville even rivaled what I have seen in Florida, and that's saying a lot.

He paid much less, but they were not buildable without a fight, so he was taking a risk on otherwise "worthless" property. Now they're worth something. I wish I could buy one of the run down houses there. Have tried, owners seem content having boarded up houses and paying taxes on them.

DUH! Now I remember. It's those buildings in the back, not the SFR's. My father-in-law is building some little homes in there on some lots I found for him. He made em' work somehow. You guys may have noticed them if you drove through. Right on Pearl off River Dr. The neighbors love it as it adds some new life. He has tried to buy more lots, but some fool saw what he was doing and now has one lot listed for 20K. What a joke!

Couldn't find this on the state.com. Do they plan to condemn the existing property there?

This is right next to my home in Dutch Fork of of Shady Grove. Close shopping is nice, but I'm not much of a shopper. They HAVE to widen Broad River to four lanes from I-26 to Ballentine (where it is already strangely 4 lanes) in order to support the traffic, then the added traffic will not be a nuisance. It's inevitable, I still support my local businesses, but Wal-Mart has many products that local business don't even offer. I just think they should be mandated to provide health insurance for ALL their employees, but that's another topic. I am a real estate agent and I called a couple months ago to inquire about some property for sale, and was told it was already owned ny Wal-MArt, that is when I found out. But it was not the property shown on the map. It was the old brick house and outbuilding on Broad River a little closer to I-26, so I don't know why Wal-MArt owns that. I would say it's good for my property values, but I know better. Long before I became a real estate agent I realized that home appreciation was a lie dreamed up by the industry. When everything else goes up, you've gained nothing. Oh well, I always thought it was nice to have shopping close by in Harbison, but never expected it this close! I guess it's only a matter of time before we get a Shady Grove exit on I-26, which will be good and bad for me.

I understand the need for funding for public transit, but what the hell are they doing with those exhorbitant car property taxes they are collecting? Florida does not collect any state income or property tax, and they were able to fund public projects long before the recent boom ever happened. I am surprised at all the talk about the home property tax which I think is not that high, and no one complains when we are taxed every year on a depreciating asset. I am actually considering not buying a new car next year because I don't want to pay that much tax. Seems kind counter-productive to car sales to me, but maybe that's cause I'm not used to it.

It's funny you say this. I have eaten there a couple times. It is good. I am Persian and while growing up, I ate food better than this on a daily basis. My dad's kabobs are the best I've had anywhere. I am told that is is better than can be had in the middle east! Now that I'm married and my wife does not even like cooking (I do), I look forward to going to restaurants like this.

I think it still is, just that there are no public facilities to it. So unless you live there, you have no benefit from it. I want more places to go in this city!

Well I am confused. Is it all condos? While I like to see development (responsible development), I would like to see more centers where people can get together on weekends and evenings with restaurants, retail, bars, parks. We need a nice riverfront nightspot like some of the bigger cities have. Of course our river is more like a big stream since no boats can traverse it. The ones I have seen in Florida are accessible by boat and are really cool for family activities, nightlife, shopping, something for everybody. That's what we need, IMO. Not just more living space for the rich.

Hello all,this is my first post here. I moved to Irmo a year ago and am still trying to get my relocated life together! This is a nice city, but suffers from lots of visual blight and poor quality shopping areas. Did the city ever have any plan for growth? It would seem not. I have found that Columbiana Center is the only viable mall, the others all look as if they are about to close down. Columbia PLace is OK, but one from a larger city would still get the feeling that something is amiss there as well. I don't understand why, the whole city is large enough for more than one good shopping mall. And the NE is growing the fastest, as far as Richland county goes. It's good to hear of the plans for the Richland mall, that is a prime location, and Dutch Square, I am sorry, is a joke. Very nice facility, but it's not built in a nice area, I think that's the problem. I, like many here am also looking forward to seeing this city turn itself around. Right now, this is the only large city in the Southeast that still has home prices almost half of that of other major cities. Great for us, but it's a sign that people don't want to move here. I moved here partly because I see Columbia at the start of a revitalization that will benefit all it's residents. Good to meet you all and I look forward to engaging in further conversation about Columbia.