IRMO, S.C. — The Town of Irmo is growing.
1191 Dutch Fork Road, near Walmart, has now been rezoned general commercial, paving the way for new development off the busy street.
"I love the fact that people are coming from outside of the area looking at the Town of Irmo for expanding their businesses and for relocating here to live," Mayor Barry Walker said.
While it's unclear what new business could come to the space, Mayor Walker said developers have expressed interest in putting townhomes or single family homes behind it.
"One of the things you have to have if you want people to live here, you have to have housing," Mayor Walker said, "and we have a bunch of brand new single family homes that are going up, single family townhomes."
The mayor also spoke about traffic, adding that, if the new developments move forward it could lead to more cars on the road.
"I grew up in Connecticut. I lived in D.C.," Mayor Walker said. "The traffic is what it is. We're getting ready to tear up I-26 and I-20. You talk about traffic? There's going to be a lot of traffic headaches during that construction phase, but what's the good part about it is we're doing things to prepare ourselves for it. We're widening that road, Broad River Road, from I-26 all the way to Ballentine. We're in the process of widening that road, to handle the brunt of that new traffic."
Angela Dreher lives in Irmo and believes the new development will be a positive change for the town.
"It shows growth and it actually will allow more families to move into this area and it's a great area to raise a family," Dreher said. "So, I think it's a great idea."
Mayor Walker said conversations about what's to come will continue in upcoming town council meetings. The next Town Council workshop meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 6.