Advocates for Owen Brown, the village center that is less than two miles away from the new grocery superstore in Columbia—Wegmans—say they are concerned about finding a way for residents to be able to walk to the store. And village leaders and residents said they don’t think Wegmans will threaten the Giant store located at the village center, one of three established in Columbia since the first opened at Wilde Lake Village Center in 1967. The concern about Wegmans and its impact and interaction with Columbia village centers is not new. One Howard County liquor board member tearfully said at…

It was a blow that almost hobbled morale in King’s Contrivance, Columbia’s southern-most village center. Long-time pub and village anchor Michael’s Pub closed March 22, 2011 after 25 years in business, causing some to ask if the loss was a harbinger of the end of Columbia's village centers as gathering places with large grocery stores and chain restaurants moved into the area. But recent interviews with business owners and village center leaders show that even amid the appearance of new retail competition—such as Wegmans—those who have a stake in King's Contrivance are optimistic about the …

Coping with the ailing economy and a blitz of big box stores, Columbia’s village centers face issues never imagined when the planned city took root in the 1970s and early 1980s.  Some village centers have made extensive changes, from building retail anchors to sweeping reconstruction to ignite business, but advocates say viable centers such as Hickory Ridge need only minor tweaking of their retail element, with  careful attention paid to any new development around the shopping core.    Armed with new master plans-–suggested by a 2009 Howard County resolution-–Hickory Ridge advocates say they …

Probably no Columbia village center has prepped for a rebirth more than Oakland Mills, a place advocates say could stand to benefit from two major changes to its landscape: a new park opening this spring and a proposed bridge that would link the village to Columbia’s core. The first 25 acres of Columbia’s Blandair Park, located on a 300-acre parcel of land on both sides of Route 175, between Route 29 and Interstate-95, will be open for the public on March 17. And village advocates are closely watching the discussions surrounding Bridge Columbia, which would replace a deteriorating footbridge …

It has been dubbed the “Wall Street of Columbia” because seven banks are clustered in and around River Hill Village Center's retail core, and its few shortcomings, according to residents, are the result of “being successful.” So if it’s not broken, why tinker with the 15-year-old River Hill Village Center?  The answer, according to Dr. Trevor Greene, volunteer committee chairman of the River Hill master plan, is because “we’re trying to be proactive and deal with issues that aren’t the same as other Columbia villages. Our problems are those of being successful.” From data collected from …

A major overhaul of Wilde Lake Village Center--more than five years in the works since its Giant Food supermarket closed--appears on the horizon, despite differing viewpoints on the future of Columbia’s first retail hub. Kimco Realty Corporation, which acquired interest in the center from the Rouse Company in 2002, has proposed various plans to redevelop the ailing and oldest shopping center in Columbia in recent years. But its focus has always been to convert the place into an urban mix of retail and high-density housing. The Lutherville-based developer, which did not return phone calls …

Hard hit by Safeway’s closing last month and several high-profile crime events nearby, Long Reach Village Center unveils a makeover in the next few weeks that includes: An international market to replace Safeway New restaurants from Subway to exotic Caribbean New offices for dental work and after-school programs A new eatery called Pizza, Indian and More is already open, and no later than Dec. 23, the international Family Market, owned by E. Paul Choe, will cater to Columbia’s Hispanic and Asian population and other shoppers interested in exotic produce and plenty of fresh fish. Choe, who …

In the coming weeks, Columbia Patch will publish a series of stories on the 10 village centers that have served as a hub for commerce, community and activities in Columbia, the planned community that came to be in 1967. We will explore the various issues the centers face in the ailing economy, asking questions about whether the village center model can thrive in a world of big box stores and online shopping--perhaps a world developer Jim Rouse couldn’t have begun to imagine when he was planning what was to be a cutting edge city that was deemed in its inaugural ad campaign the “Next America…