May 19, 2005|By Laura Cadiz and Larry Carson | Laura Cadiz and Larry Carson,SUN STAFF
The development company at the helm of Columbia's future unveiled a draft plan last night that would turn the planned community's downtown into a bustling urban core connected with roads and walkways and adding shops, homes and a hotel adjacent to Merriweather Post Pavilion.
General Growth Properties, which bought the Rouse Co., Columbia's builder, last fall, has been working since then on a plan that would satisfy residents and local officials looking for more details about the path the downtown development would take.
The heart of the draft plan presented to about 400 residents in Columbia last night is a mix of businesses, homes, parking and open space on a 51.7-acre crescent-shaped property near Symphony Woods - Columbia's largest chunk of developable land - now partially used for amphitheater parking.
One scenario for the site would include a 24-story building, an 18-story building and an eight-story building. That trio could include 704,000 square feet of office space, 148,000 square feet of retail, 1,000 housing units and a 125-room hotel.
"The crescent offers unique dining, shopping and a residential lifestyle that capitalizes on the proximity to and views of Symphony Woods," said Dennis W. Miller, Rouse's and now General Growth's general manager for Columbia.
The company has decided that Merriweather, a regional entertainment magnet, will remain an open-air venue, with concertgoers able to park throughout Town Center.
Walkways and roads
The plan - which Mahan Rykiel Associates, a Baltimore urban planning and landscape architecture firm, helped create - breaks the area into five districts linked through pedestrian walkways and roads.
New urban roads could be built behind the pavilion and near the Kittamaqundi lakefront. Parallel curbside parking, restaurants and retail outlets could create a Main Street-type of atmosphere.
"We see a real opportunity to create a dynamic urban street," Tom McGilloway of Mahan Rykiel told the crowd.
The plan includes mixed-use development overlaying large parking lots by The Mall in Columbia and throughout Town Center and another hotel off Sterrett Place.
Residents' opinions
Residents - who had to make reservations to attend the meeting - packed into the company's lakefront building to hear the plan and offer their opinions about what should be built in Columbia's downtown.
The company will study those suggestions before staging another town hall meeting next month, which will deal with traffic issues.
Bonnie Bricker, a Columbia resident for 28 years, said during a break in the meeting that she thinks the area could be more vibrant, but she worries about "tremendous traffic problems."
"Everybody wants a Bethesda," she said. "But nobody wants Bethesda's traffic."
Lynn Egan, a 29-year resident, said she liked the plans she saw.
"It definitely is something that needs to continue what [Columbia developer] James W. Rouse started," she said.
`I'm very impressed'
Edward Stokes Sr., a Columbia resident since 1976, said: "I'm very impressed. It's consistent with what I wanted done."
The development company's plan comes after it faced criticism over the past two years from residents who said its ideas for downtown Columbia lacked details and public insight.
Many residents protested a zoning request by Rouse in 2003 to increase Columbia's housing density, which would have allowed construction of lucrative residential units on the parcel near Merriweather. The company also wanted to convert the pavilion into a year-round enclosed theater.
The Howard County Zoning Board denied the request, a decision that successor General Growth is appealing.
Company's petition
In a proposal before the county Planning Board, General Growth again is pressing to develop the area behind Merriweather, this time with office and retail buildings. The board is scheduled to meet May 26, when it could rule on the company's petition.
Although the company has not abandoned either proposal, it began interviewing about a dozen community leaders this year and met with them during work sessions last month to create a development plan for downtown Columbia.
While county leaders were involved in General Growth's work sessions, the county also intends to create a master plan for Town Center, which will incorporate infrastructure needs and take into consideration all of the land in the urban center.
A charrette
Howard County Executive James N. Robey has included up to $250,000 in the county budget for the process, which is to include a charrette - an intense gathering over consecutive days - with experts, consultants and residents.
The county is aiming to hold the charrette in September and have a master plan in place by the end of the year.
