Facing a cash crunch that has it considering selling off properties, developer and multiple-mall owner General Growth Properties is at the same time about to take the next step in what could be a big moneymaker: the makeover of downtown Columbia.
The development company is planning to submit rezoning requests this week for perhaps the biggest project the county has seen since Columbia's birth four decades ago. The fate of those requests could determine how much of a financial transfusion the company can expect.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said that General Growth's financial problems are another reason to get a plan governing the redevelopment approved.
"It certainly heightens the urgency to lock in a master plan for town center," Ulman said.
But some in the community have been skeptical of plans, even before the extent of General Growth's financial distress became known.
Lloyd Knowles, a former County Council member who has been sharply critical of General Growth, said people want to see more details of the plan and what exact zoning changes are being requested.
"None of the public has seen these details," Knowles said.
Gregory F. Hamm, regional vice president of GGP and Columbia's general manager, said his firm expects a final plan can be approved by the County Council by the spring. Speaking at a meeting Wednesday organized by the county League of Women Voters, Hamm said the project would generate about $1 billion in net new tax revenues for the county over its 30-year life, as well as significantly boost company earnings.
Yet no sooner did the announcement of GGP's troubles break than locals began to worry whether Columbia would be among the assets that are sold, and the redevelopment scrapped.
"We would not be guaranteed anything you're talking about if you sell off and leave," Barbara Russell, a former Columbia Association board member said at the Wednesday meeting. Russell recalled the Rouse Company departure just four years ago.
Hamm gave no guarantee but sought to reassure the crowd that GGP is not on the way out of town. He added that getting the redevelopment plan rolling in earnest serves as the clearest indicator of that.
"That's why it's so important to get a plan in place," Hamm said.
Understating the importance of the project would be hard to do, said Barbara Schnackenberg, co-president of the league, who added that the redevelopment "affects all of Howard County."
