What Could a New Downtown Columbia Look Like? We're Starting to Find Out

With only design guidelines to look at and actual site plans not yet on the horizon, residents got a glimpse into what a future Columbia Town Center will look like, and they had a lot to say about it.

Some were excited about the possibilities while others were concerned about the potentially large number of rental properties and what new construction will do to the character of existing neighborhoods.

Representatives of the Howard Hughes Corp. Thursday night unveiled land-use and design guidelines for new residential and retail development on 12 acres of land around The Mall in Columbia.

About 100 residents showed up for the presentation at Howard Community College that Hughes officials called both the culmination of a seven-year approval of a master plan and the first step of a lengthy process — with many opportunities for community engagement — that will eventually lead to building permits.

While the documents now available mainly govern specifications like the types of building and roofing materials to be used, the length of blocks and the width of roads, residents seem more concerned about what will actually be built.

Mike Trappen, a civil engineer with Gutschick, Little and Weber, said buildings will range from four to nine stories, with the majority being seven-story structures.

The four-story buildings will be closer to The Mall, and a nine-story section will be built closer to Gov. Warfield Boulevard and Little Patuxent Parkway.

Residents were concerned that tall buildings will detract from the character of the area and said they were worried that new construction will not adequately integrate with the Warfield neighborhoods that already exist.

Joel Broida, a Columbia resident since 1971, said he fears the bulk of 817 new residences could be rental homes.

Renters don't have the sense of investment in a community that homeowners have, Broida told Hughes officials.

"Renters don't have pride in the community," he said. "They aren't the ones to pick up that piece of paper someone dropped."

Hughes officials again stressed that specific building plans do not yet exist.

Any rental units built would be "high-end rentals" that cannot be compared with anything currently on the market, they said.

"There has been no discussion of integration with the current Warfield neighborhood," one woman said. "Are you making sure that this is all integrated into the Warfield neighborhood that's already there?"

While one official needed the existing homes pointed out on the map, others said care will be taken to ensure that integration.

The next step is a meeting on Nov. 9 between Hughes representatives and the Howard County Design Advisory Panel, a group that will give feedback to Hughes, as well as make recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Board and Howard County Government as the project moves forward.