New Restaurant Offers Indian and Nepalese Food in West Columbia

The restaurant opened March 15.

  While east Columbia boasts popular Indian restaurants like Royal Taj and House of India, getting a curry fix can be difficult on the west side. That changed last month when Curry and Kabob opened in Wilde Lake Village Center on March 15. Located next to The Melting Pot and Bagel Bin, the restaurant offers both Indian and Nepalese cuisine. "We've been doing well," said owner Chandra Chhantyal on Wednesday, about the restaurant's first 15 days in business. Business is likely to pick up soon. On Wednesday local food blog HowChow published a review saying, "it's a talented kitchen in a personable restaurant." The restaurant offers Indian signatures like chicken tikka masala ($14.95), lamb curry ($15.95), and garlic naan ($3.50); but also …

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CVS Planning to Build Store in Wilde Lake

Village Center redevelopment plans move forward with a new CVS building.

  Kimco has reached an agreement with CVS to bring one of its pharmacies to the Wilde Lake Village Center. The new CVS will take the place of the current Crown Gas Station, according to Wilde Lake covenant adviser Carl McKinney. Plans for the new building were put on display Monday at Slayton House after Kimco development officials outlined their plans for the development of the village center at a Village Board meeting. The store is estimated to be about 13,000 square feet. Before being approved, plans for the store will open to public comment for the next three weeks, then the plan will go to a design panel for further recommendations and then come back to the Village Board for approval, according to McKinney. Ground is scheduled to be …

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SplashDown Reopening March 24

After repairs to the aging stairs tower, the Columbia Association is set to host a free SplashDown Bash to celebrate the reopening of the water slides.

Time for Columbia’s kids to get excited—SplashDown is reopening this month. The two 40-foot high, 360-foot long swirling slides will re-open on March 24, according to Columbia Association spokesperson Kelly Cooper. Cooper said the reopening is being celebrated with a free SplashDown Bash event from 1 to 6 p.m. on March 24. The slides, which last operated in May of 2011, were shut down indefinitely after an August safety inspection found structural issues in the stairs tower, according to an article in Explore Howard. In September, the Columbia Association board approved plans to make repairs on the tower by a vote of 8-0. At the time several residents urged the board to make repairs to save SplashDown, which opened in 1986. The current …

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You Said It!

Comment: Bag tax is ‘a bunch of horse manure.’

Howard County readers react to the news of the past week.

Howard County readers took their thoughts to the comments sections last week on Patch, talking most about stories about the Howard County school district’s decision to acquire land in Elkridge, the evolving village of Wilde Lake in Columbia, the bag tax’s possible spread in Maryland, a new bridge proposed for Columbia and the police chief’s response to accusations of DUI quotas. A New Bridge For Columbia? One Group Hopes So “Is the bridge actually unsafe or do people just use their feelings to determine that it's unsafe (if it is unsafe it should be replaced, of course)? Isn't it enclosed because it crosses a major highway and there is a desire to not have people throwing things down to the highway? This seems, like many things, to be …

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Shooting, Toxins and a New School: Howard County News Roundup

A look back at the week in news in Howard County.

County Approves Matching Grant of Up to $150,000 for Baldwin Hall Howard County this week approved a matching grant of up to $150,000 for improvements to Carroll Baldwin Hall in Savage, and the hall's organizer says it should help the community meeting place become a self-sufficient resource.  Howard County Police Investigating Columbia Shooting Marcus Lee, 20, was taken to the University of Maryland's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center after being shot Wednesday night on Stevens Forest Road in Columbia. Wilde Lake: A Battle Over the Soul of Columbia's First Village Center Kimco Realty Corp. looks to redevelop the Wilde Lake Village Center in Columbia. Plans include an "upscale" apartment complex. County Agrees to Test for Toxins at …

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The Village Rebirth

Wilde Lake: A Battle Over the Soul of Columbia’s First Village Center

‘You can’t destroy the heritage of Columbia.’ – Robert Tennenbaum.

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 about the redevelopment, has not included plans for a new supermarket in its proposals. The changes have local business owners and long-time residents …

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bookworm81

10:36 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012

You're exactly right. We've seen ample proof that without a grocery as an anchor the village center needs special businesses that people will come specifically to visit. For example, I'm sure most people are shopping at the liquor stores in Harpers Choice or Hickory Ridge when they're already there shopping at Safeway or Giant and that's why the liquor store in Wilde Lake is having such a hard …   more ›

Wilde Lake Board, Residents Get Look at Village Center Plans

Luxury apartment community would contain at least 230 units.

There are a lot of "ifs" between now and the end of 2014. But if all Howard County government approvals are secured by the end of 2012, and the weather and other uncontrollable elements are kind to the project, it's this time three years from now that Kimco Realty officials anticipate renting the first group of units in a luxury apartment community planned for the Wilde Lake Village Center. Kimco Vice President Geoff Glazer presented preliminary plans for the project to the Wilde Lake Village Board at its meeting Monday. Plans to redevelop the center have been underway for "many years," according to Glazer. The center has been without a grocery story since Giant closed in 2006 and other businesses followed suit. Some residents hold out a …

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New Residential Buildings Proposed for Wilde Lake Village Center

Village officials encourage residents to view the plans and comment at a Monday meeting.

Wilde Lake Village Center’s long-awaited redevelopment moves incrementally forward Dec. 19 when the property’s owner unveils architectural plans for new residential buildings to the village board at a 7 p.m. public meeting at Slayton House. Giant Food, the center’s anchor supermarket, closed in 2006. Since then, other merchants have shuttered shops and overall business has declined, said Trevor Gardner, manager of Today’s Catch, a seafood store in business for 30 years at Wilde Lake. “New redevelopment will bring life back into the center,” he said. Kimco Realty Corporation, which owns the 40-plus-year-old retail hub for Wilde Lake Village, would not return inquiries about redevelopment plans. However, both Village Board Village Chairman …

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hmj

12:16 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Very true. Stop adding apartments. Now tell the County Council Chairperson and other elected leaders to stop building apartments in Columbia. She needs to be held accountable.   more ›