Downtown Columbia

Howard County has announced that it will conduct the weeklong, intensive design gathering that will result in a master development plan for Columbia's downtown from Oct. 15 to 22. The Baltimore firm Design Collective Inc. will lead the charrette, at which residents will be invited to share ideas about how Columbia's downtown should be transformed into a bustling urban environment. The meetings will focus on the 570 acres that make up Town Center's core - including The Mall in Columbia and the 51.7-acre, crescent-shaped property near Merriweather Post Pavilion - and will address issues such as mixed uses, walkability, the balance between pedestrians and cars, diverse and affordable housing and the environment.

The Columbia Association is aiming to resolve the fate of its headquarters after next month's intensive design gathering that will result in a master development plan for Columbia's downtown. The association has been working out of its rented downtown lakefront building for 13 years, and the lease on the office space -- which it rents from General Growth Properties for $556,000 a year -- expires in August 2007. The association has been compiling a list of alternatives, ranging from continuing to rent, to buying a building or constructing a building on land it owns.

The county is looking for ways the lakefront building that houses the Columbia Association and Clyde's restaurant can be spared during the redevelopment of Town Center. An idea from the county-sponsored charrette about the future of downtown Columbia included razing the building to make way for an open lakefront vista. Complaints from residents have prompted the county to look for alternatives. "We've heard from a lot of residents that they're very concerned that [the concept] misstates their views," said Steve Lafferty, the county's deputy planning director.

A county-commissioned traffic study warning that downtown Columbia's street network is near capacity calls into question a county plan that would turn downtown Columbia into a bustling urban environment with added homes and businesses. The study by the Orlando, Fla.-based Glatting Jackson consulting firm also suggests reducing the number of new residential and commercial units planned for Columbia's Town Center -- a vision in sharp contrast to the recommendations that emerged from a county-sponsored community design session in October.

The county's vision for downtown Columbia should be rewritten to specify requirements for developers, identify sources of money for traffic improvements and state clearly how many homes can be built before more public services are needed, according to the Columbia Association. In a four-page letter sent to Howard County Executive Ken Ulman last week, the association board emphasized the community's desire to remain true to founder James W. Rouse's vision for the town. "It is our belief that Columbia was founded on a masterful creative vision for its time," the letter said.

Columbia's developer says the Town Center is an ideal place for companies. There's a lake, restaurants and a concert pavilion, all minutes from Interstate 95 and other major thoroughfares.But that hasn't been enough to draw businesses to Columbia's downtown, Alton J. Scavo, the Rouse Co.'s general manager of Columbia development, told members of the Town Center village board during his annual meeting with the group last night.As a result, Rouse is looking for a spark to revive the stalled growth in the Town Center.

Dennis W. Miller is stepping down after three years as the general manager and prime mover for Columbia. During his tenure, Miller served both the Rouse Co., which started the planned community, and General Growth Properties Inc. of Chicago, the company that bought Rouse in 2004. Miller, 40, will be replaced by Douglas M. Godine, who was a Rouse senior vice president for almost 20 years before leaving to start his own consulting business, General Growth Properties announced yesterday.

After three months of waiting, residents got their chance last night to argue before the Howard County Planning Board against a plan by General Growth Properties to develop the land around Merriweather Post Pavilion. Residents came prepared, armed with exhibits, traffic data and even a civil engineer to counter testimony in previous meetings from traffic experts hired by General Growth. The arguments lasted three hours in a public hearing that has been continuing since October. A decision was put off last night as the board opted to hold at least one more meeting, Jan. 26, to hear from the public, before voting on the company's proposal to build retail and office buildings on the 51.7 acres of undeveloped land in downtown Columbia.

Two out-of-state real estate investment trusts are spending in excess of $60 million to acquire local properties, the latest sign that publicly held real estate companies are dominating commercial transactions in the Baltimore area.First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. yesterday completed a $37.4 million deal to acquire most of the projects built by P. F. Obrecht & Sons, a longtime Baltimore development firm that had been privately owned and family controlled.With Obrecht's 11 buildings, First Industrial gains 840,230 square feet of primarily warehouse space.

The new management of Merriweather Post Pavilion is attempting to dispel the belief that the venue is a money-losing venture. The outdoor amphitheater in Columbia had been characterized as unprofitable and deteriorating by its owner, the Rouse Co., which wants to covert it to an enclosed theater and is offering to sell it to Howard County. But this summer the pavilion is thriving with sellout shows for top acts including the Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney, its operators say. "There's no question we're going to make money this year," said Seth Hurwitz, co-owner of I.M.P.