Ownership of Merriweather Post Pavilion — the 49-year-old outdoor music amphitheater placed by James W. Rouse in the heart of Columbia — transferred from Howard Hughes Corp. to the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission on Wednesday.

Contemplated for more than six years, the transfer is part of an agreement with Howard Hughes Corp., the planned community's master developer, which is overhauling 391 acres of downtown Columbia into an urban core.

“This is a historic day,” said Greg Fitchitt, Howard Hughes vice president of development, who joined local and state officials at a ceremonial transfer Wednesday morning. “As we move forward with the downtown Columbia plan, Merriweather Post Pavilion is integral to creating a vibrant, exciting downtown Columbia.”

Hughes' plan for more than $1 billion in Columbia redevelopment got a significant push in early November when the County Council passed a $90 million tax increment financing deal to fund public infrastructure, including a $51 million public parking garage for Merriweather.

“This really was a grand bargain that we have consummated here,” County Executive Allan Kittleman said Wednesday. “Merriweather Post Pavilion is the jewel of downtown Columbia and Howard County and now we have the comfort in knowing it will continue to shine bright for future generations.”

The council conditioned the release of the TIFfunds on the transfer of Merriweather.

The pact jump-starts the development of the Merriweather district, a three million-square-foot area that surrounds the pavilion and is slated to become a thriving center for culture and commerce. The area will include one million square feet of commercial office space, 750 residential apartment units and 250,000 square feet of street retail.

In 2003, Merriweather faced an uncertain future, but local advocates created a Save Merriweather campaign to keep the concert venue open. The transfer allows the commission, a nonprofit that aims to promote arts and culture in Columbia, to add community-based programming.

Plans include shows by local artists and partnerships with organizations to bring a local vibe to the pavilion.

“The stage for the next 50 years is being set,” said Ian Kennedy, executive director of the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission. Kennedy and his friend Justin Carlson, two Columbia kids and former bandmates, launched the campaign.

Nearly 13 years later, the music at Merriweather will continue playing.

The arts and culture scene is already stringing up for a new start.

The pavilion is undergoing $19 million in renovations amid ongoing noise complaints from the surrounding community during the pavilion's shows.

City planners and developers are mulling plans for a new $130 million cultural arts center in the area to bring art organizations, including Toby's Dinner Theatre, under one roof and provide affordable housing for artists.

East of the pavilion, a bright green shell-shaped outdoor amphitheater, the Chrysalis, is taking shape as the first phase of construction planned for retooling Symphony Park.

The ongoing revitalization is the product of Columbia's 30-year master plan, which passed in 2010 after a series of charettes and negotiations with the county and GGP, the successor to the Rouse Co. and the principal land owner in Columbia at the time.

Howard Hughes Corp., a spin-off corporation created by GGP, assumed ownership of developable land in 2010 after GGP emerged from bankruptcy.

That plan was updated this year with an increase of 744 affordable units on top of the already planned 5,500 residential units.

Wednesday's event had a celebratory flair, including a public “shaving” of Kennedy, who had grown a lengthy beard in recent months in anticipation of the transfer.

Local officials looked to the future, saying the transfer cements the pavilion's place in local hands for generations to come.

“Today is the day that opens the door to imagination,” said County Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty.

County Council Chairman Calvin Ball predicted that in years to come, “People will look back and just marvel at what an icon Merriweather has become — even more than it is today.”