Columbia Gateway

Responding to a robust rebound in demand, Corporate Office Properties Trust, one of the largest developers and managers of commercial office space in the Mid-Atlantic, is launching an ambitious expansion in Columbia Gateway with the construction of three office complexes in the 635-acre business park. Technically, the company has announced four projects, but one of them already is well under construction and came as no surprise. Randall M. Griffin, president and chief executive officer of the company, also said that the firm will relocate its headquarters to Columbia Gateway from its offices on Centre Park Drive.

Wellness classes Howard County General Hospital will offer the following wellness classes in April and May. Classes will be held at the HCGH Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Drive, Suite 100, Columbia unless otherwise listed. Register in advance online at http://www.hcgh.org or call 410-740-7601. •Shoulder pain: Dr. Umasuthan Srikumaran, orthopedic surgeon, will discuss common shoulder injuries, such as rotator cuff and labrum tears, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. •Happy baby: Learn successful techniques to soothe your crying baby and promote restful sleep for your infant, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. This course is for parents of babies up to 3 months old. $50 per couple.

The Ford Motor Credit Co., looking to establish its first regional operations center to process car loans, is considering leasing an office building at the Columbia Gateway business park.Jim Bright, a spokesman for the Ford Motor Co. subsidiary, said yesterday that the Columbia site, off Interstate 95 and Route 175, is one of several locations in Maryland and Northern Virginia under consideration."We have been working closely with the state and Howard County, and they have been helpful," Mr. Bright said.

With its homemade pastas, early interest in seasonal ingredients and responsible sourcing, and enthusiasm for wine, Columbia's Aida Bistro and Wine Bar has had a successful run, earning a loyal clientele and good reviews over the past eight years. So if you asked owners Joe and Mary Barbera if there is anything they'd want to change about Aida, they'd say: YES! For one thing, the kitchen has always been too small for Aida to fully accommodate a lunchtime business, and the bar is only big enough for a few people to dine at, with no room for gathering and mingling.

The Howard County Planning Board last week approved a site development plan for a pair of two-story office buildings in Columbia Gateway. The buildings will be on 7.7 acres on Lee DeForest Drive, south of Robert Fulton Drive. The developer is Gateway Centre LLC. One structure will have 75,000 square feet; the second will have 55,000 square feet. Both will have modest warehouse components. Lee DeForest Drive must be extended toward the B&O Railroad before final approval of the plan may occur, the Department of Planning and Zoning said.

Linda Wilson gazed with horror at the vultures nesting on the balcony just off her fifth-floor office and waiting to ensnare field mice below. Thus was her baptism to Columbia Gateway. It might be more accurate to say it was Wilson's introduction to the idea of Columbia Gateway because other than the swooping predators and a scattering of single-story offices in the distance, there was little else but vacant land. No more. Today, the office park, which is flanked by Interstate 95, Route 175 and Snowden River Parkway, boasts almost 70 office complexes, housing some of the region's biggest companies and employing 11,000 people.

State Highway Administration officials have postponed a meeting about Route 32 in western Howard County that had been scheduled for tomorrow. No new date has been set, although highway officials are considering March 20 at 4 p.m. in the county's Columbia Gateway building, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive. The meeting will bring together a panel of land-use experts who are considering the effects of three proposals for Route 32: widening it from two lanes to four between Route 108 and Interstate 70 and adding interchanges; adding only the interchanges; or leaving the road as it is.

TOMORROW Social Services Executive Board Will meet at 4 p.m. at 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. Commission on Disabilities Issues Will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Gateway Building, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. County Council Will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on legislation introduced June 6 in the Banneker Room, George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City. TUESDAY Local Children's Board Will meet at 4 p.m. at the Child Care Resource Center, 3300 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City.

Small-business financier j-ref, in cooperation with the Business Finance Group and Commerce First Bank, will sponsor "Creative Small Business Financing: SBA 504 Program Panel Discussion" from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 5 at Howard Community College's Gateway Campus Building, Room 6, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive in Columbia. A panel will explain whom the SBA 504 program assists and how j-ref's fund can be used in conjunction with the program, a long-term financing tool for major fixed assets.

Micros Systems Inc.'s headquarters building in Columbia sold yesterday for $62.1 million, or $256 per square foot, reflecting intense demand for newer, well-leased office properties in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Wells Real Estate Funds of Atlanta said it bought the 247,624-square-foot, Class A suburban office building on Columbia Gateway Drive from the seller, believed to be a union pension fund. The seller was advised by Great Point Investors of Boston.

Tomorrow Board of Zoning Appeals -- The hearing examiner will hear cases BA 06-032V (Richard Strauss) at 3 p.m. and BA 06-001S (Savage Stone LLC) at 4 p.m., both in the Ellicott Room, George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City. Social Services Executive Board -- Will meet at 4 p.m. at the Department of Social Services, 7121 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. Commission on Disability Issues -- Will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Gateway Building, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia.