I'm guessing you meant in general and I would agree with you on that point but for the record the "residences" proposed for downtown Columbia were cited to be "developed in phases, with those in the first, covering about five acres, offered for rent."

http://www.columbiamd.com/2011/11/baltimore-sun-817-unit-housing-development-planned-for-columbia/

The article does go on to mention about 1,000 square feet per apartment so that is at the very least not going to be a boatload of cheap low end housing. I'd expect those apartments to run 1-1.5k a month due in part to being newer than the aging apartment complexes in the area.

I don't know about you, but 1000 sq. feet and 1-1.5k/month is not high end housing. That's what you get over in Orchard Crossing, and that area has been turning into garbage for a while. Of course, it didn't help that several of the not-so-secret drug dealers (and users) were there on Section 8 housing slips. So, although I don't particularly want downtown apartments, if they don't accept Housing Assistance programs, then it'd be more acceptable.

Developers are having difficulty selling to the 55+ crowd because Maryland taxes are too high already, retirees can move to warmer climates in states that do not tax retirement income & are more favorable to estates. Finally, have you LOOKED @ the changes in the populace in Columbia over the years? It is not going to be too much longer for this area to resemble inner city Baltimore & DC because mass transit has made it so easy for less savory elements from those cities to visit & to reside in Columbia. No, this is not politically correct, but it is a most unfortunate truth!

The reason no one is buying these is that they are really expensive for folks on a fixed income (starting at $220,000). People want to downgrade in their older years and taking care of 1600 -1700 sq ft of living space is not what they want. I know this because we are looking for affordable housing for my elderly mother in HoCo and it's hard to come by. We don't want her in a slum, but she can't afford extravagance either. Seems like there is nothing in the middle.

I would hope not, but depending on rental market rates, they might reach the same unfortunate conclusion so many apartment communities in Columbia have reached, which is that rent in the form of section 8 dollars is the same as from occupants' dollars. I don't mean to say that section 8 can't be a good program, because it can, and many occupants actually use the program graciously and peacefully. Others use it as a free place to set up some illicit business, often drugs, so they can spend their under-the-table money on gaudy vehicles and clothes instead.

The problem is this:
VOUCHER PAYMENT STANDARDS
EFF 1-BR 2-BR 3-BR 4-BR 5-BR
COLUMBIA (01/01/11) 1325 1377 1582 2150 2504 2879
NON-COLUMBIA(01/01/11) 1024 1157 1389 1784 2203 2533

http://www.co.ho.md.us/uploadedFiles/Home/Policies_and_Regulations/Housing/Owner%20Handbook%20rev.pdf

Howard County is effectively pushing vouchers into Columbia. It's absurd.

Town Center apartment complex accepts Sec. 8 vouchers & its rents are not inconsiderable. The theory now in housing is to DISTRIBUTE low income residents
throughout the community rather than concentrating them in any one development.

"The theory now in housing is to DISTRIBUTE low income residents
throughout the community rather than concentrating them in any one development."

Except, as with most social theories, this proves to be the undoing. All it takes is 1 or 2 undesirables setting up shop in an otherwise nice complex, and people start talking and leaving. As people hear about that complex, the only people willing to take the empty spots are similar to the undesirables already there. In the end, every decent member of that community moves away and the area turns exactly into what the "social planners" were trying to avoid in the first place.

I seriously hope not. The Mall already has parking issues. In addition, part of this "Warfield" area also contains the AMC Theater, Cheesecake Factory, and some sort of office building at the top. Unless they plan on tearing down some key buildings (I know the AMC is the best theater in the area), then they're stuck developing parking lots and the large grassy areas nearby.

Cheap for whom? $1582 is more than I'd pay for a 2BR apartment in Columbia, yet that's what the county will pay for vouchers. Even more ridiculous, the $2150 they'll pay for a 3BR is more than the mortgage plus escrow for a lot of single-family homes in Columbia, and definitely more than a lot of hard-working people who don't qualify for section 8 can afford to spend on a house. I'm glad some people get the help they need, but while I'm fairly liberal, I shake my head when I think that the years I've spent getting and paying for an education, working tough and stressful jobs, etc. to establish a career gets me and my two kids a house that costs not much more than a county 3BR free housing voucher, and a vehicle that wouldn't even rank in the top half in value if I parked it in the public housing complexes in Wilde Lake or Harper's Choice.

Columbia will be the voucher capital of Maryland if the County Executive and Council Chair continue to push these programs ---- another magnet program for people around the nation and world.