| Page 2 of 2 < |
Rethinking Columbia With a 'Real Downtown'
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
General Growth acquired the Columbia property in 2004 from the Rouse Co. and controls about 95 of the 110 acres scheduled to be redeveloped. About 40 percent of the county's population calls Columbia home.
Columbia, an unincorporated community of almost 100,000 between Washington and Baltimore, was built by James W. Rouse in the 1960s. At a time when some children still attended segregated schools, Rouse designed Columbia to be welcoming to all.
Rouse, who died in 1996, remains a revered figure among many residents. As the community debates its future, residents are divided over whether he would want such a major change to revitalize Columbia.
Under General Growth's proposal, downtown would be divided into five new neighborhoods. Warfield, northwest of the mall, would include housing, office space and stores. Developers envision a neighborhood that would feature housing above retail and tree-lined streets. General Growth said about 20 percent of the new units would be set aside as affordable housing.
The Lakefront neighborhood, east of the mall, could include as many as 2,000 new housing units as well as office space and stores, which Hamm said developers hoped would increase the vibrancy of an often-deserted area.
Other areas include the Crescent, the parcel behind Merriweather Post Pavilion, where the bulk of the office space would be concentrated, and Merriweather, which General Growth hopes to turn into a cultural and civic space that could include a children's theater area. Symphony Overlook would be "where downtown meets culture," Hamm said, and could be the first area in which construction might begin with office space, stores and hotel rooms.
General Growth's proposal cites a study by the Howard school system indicating that the effect on schools would probably be minimal because high-density housing could be expected to bring more singles and couples with no or few children than single-family communities would. But the developers recommend that the school system conduct another study to confirm that.
Mobile
Email