Vacated Village Center a Concern

"I think 500 units dramatically changes the village center. It becomes an apartment complex," said Vincent Marando, chairman of the five-member board and a candidate for reelection. "It's not in my way of thinking mixed use."

But Richard Madzel, another board member running for reelection to the one-year seat, applauded Kimco's idea to add housing, especially if it's affordable for middle-income wage earners such as teachers and firefighters.

Regardless, village board candidate Bill Santos says safety is a factor in redevelopment.

"With storefronts that are empty, and there's not the foot traffic there, people may not feel as safe," Santos said. "Something needs to be done."

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) is promising legislative changes to county zoning laws targeted at helping revitalize Wilde Lake and another older village, Oakland Mills.

"There's certainly an urgency, a desire to make some progress," Ulman said. "I know the status quo is not the answer. Having boarded up storefronts wasn't part of the deal."

He said his administration is interested in public-private partnerships to redevelop and revitalize older parts of the county.

On Monday, at the entrance to the village center, a small makeshift shrine, decorated with flowers, photographs and candles, paid tribute to last week's victim. A midmorning quiet hung over the Bagel Bin coffee shop. As a lone customer lingered at a table, manager Paul Park looked out the window, toward the budding tulips in the courtyard.

Sales have been in steep decline for more than a year, Park said. And then there was last week's "terrible incident."

"It worries me a lot," he said.