Members of a panel responsible for reviewing design and architecture in Howard County will meet Wednesday to see more details on the proposed redevelopment of the Mall in Columbia, the vice chair said Tuesday.

As of now, representatives of General Growth Properties, which owns the mall, have said the redevelopment would add a 75,000-square-feet “lifestyle center” and would get rid of 30,000 square feet of existing retail space, replacing the mall’s L.L. Bean store, according to Explore Howard.

The Howard County Design Panel will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at 3430 Court House Drive in Ellicott City to see proposed design guidelines for the mall neighborhood, said design advisory panel vice chair Don Taylor.

Those guidelines—which are different from the mall’s architectural plan—will reveal the mall’s general proposals and limitations on signs, building heights, and other aspects of design, Taylor said.

The panel will compare the design guidelines with those of the surrounding neighborhood, referred to as the Town Center, to make sure they are consistent, he said.

Panel members provide “advice and counseling and we make recommendations if there’s a better way,” Taylor said.

In the future, the panel will review more detailed plans on the mall, including the proposed architecture, he added.

The Mall in Columbia opened Aug. 2, 1971, and today, attracts 18 million shoppers per year.

The 640,000-square-foot structure was developed by the same entity, The Rouse Company, that conceptualized Columbia, the planned community that came about in 1967 and was the vision of developer James Rouse. 

Today, the mall occupies 1.4 million square feet and has more than 200 stores, kiosks and restaurants.