Confidential Report Says Symphony Woods Best Location for New CA Headquarters

Possibly the biggest proposed project in the conceptual Inner Arbor Plan is building a new Columbia Association headquarters in Symphony Woods.

But is Symphony Woods the right location for a new CA headquarters?

A 2005 memo written by the former chief financial officer of CA, Rafia Siddiqui, recommends Symphony Woods as the best option for new office space for CA. The memo itself is a summary of a larger report commissioned by CA and undertaken by KLNB, a Mid-Atlantic commercial real estate firm.

A CA spokesperson said the full 2005 report "remains confidential due to negotiations, both past and future."

Siddiqui, who is now retired from CA, was announced this month as the new treasurer of the Inner Arbor Trust, the organization tasked by CA's Board to implement the Inner Arbor Plan. The trust, its president Michael McCall or Columbia Association have not estimated how much the plan could cost, instead citing the conceptual nature of the plan and the fact that it's in the early phases of development.

The plan in the memo was to build a 30,000 square foot, two-story building facing the intersection of Little Patuxent Parkway and South Entrance Road.

Susan Krabbe, CA's chief financial officer, said the recommendation to build in Symphony Woods made sense.

"The main reason was that CA already owned that land, and so the cost was for the building only," wrote Krabbe.  "That principle is still true, which is why it would be good to keep this as an option. Whether it is still the least expensive option remains to be seen and should be evaluated with other options."

CA's current lease at 10221 Wincopin Circle runs about $520,000 per year, according to an Explore Howard report, and is set to expire in August 2015.

CA budgeted $1 million in fiscal year 2014 to begin the process of finding a location and to begin putting money aside toward the cost of a new headquarters.

As part of CA's Board of Directors' approval of the Inner Arbor Plan in February, CA designated Symphony Woods as the preferred location for a new CA headquarters building.

Do you think Symphony Woods is a good location for a new Columbia Association headquarters?