Village center awaits a boost
OAKLAND MILLS, From page 1 has been at the center of the county’s revitalization efforts for Columbia’s 10 village centers.
In 2015, a task force created by the Oakland Mills Community Association laid out aspirations for the center, which opened in 1969 and is challenged by its insulated location and retail competition from nearby shopping areas.
“I think we all recognize that something needs to be done. The village center is not serving its purpose,” said Mike Shaw, building manager for Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, located in the village center. “A lot of the tenants there are just having a hard time making ends meet,”
About11percent of the property is vacant.
Last September, Weis Markets converted the former Food Lion into a Weis, while a former Exxon gas station has not been replaced.
Progress — albeit slow — has been made, said Kay Wisniewski, a member of the Oakland Mills Village Board.
“This really is a very helpful report. … It’s not spectacular. But really good things are happening,” Wisniewski said.
Earlier this month Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman announced nearly $1.25 million in upgrades to Bridge Columbia, a pedestrian crossing above U.S.
29 that connects Oakland Mills and east Columbia to the downtown lakefront area.
Residents have hoped the bridge would better connect the village center to downtown, and upgrades to modernize the bridge are scheduled to begin this fall.
Cathy Spain, a member of the advocacy group Friends of Bridge Columbia, said she was disappointed by the study, which she hoped would push for trail-oriented development.
“We need to find our niche. I think for this village, the niche is the trail and the niche is the parkland and somehow we need to take advantage of that,” Spain said.
“I’m disappointed in the study because I don’t think there is something there that will excite the community and spur the development we’d like to see.”
Future plans would cycle through the revitalization process for Columbia’s village centers that the County Council passed in 2009. While the county has no plans to buy the village center, the county is open to examining economic incentives throughout the project, said Val Lazdins, director of the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning.
Hampered by parking requirements, limited land availability and a multimilliondollar price tag, a major sports facility is unlikely to come to the center. The facility could require the removal of parts of the village center and create a barrier to surrounding neighborhoods, according to the study.
The center already houses the Columbia Ice Rink, where the Columbia Association plans to invest $2.4 million toward upgrades, according to Jane Dembner, Columbia Association’s director of planning and community affairs.
“It’s not going anywhere. It’s here to stay,” Dembner said of the ice rink.
The study suggests revenue from selling market-rate units could help a developer pay for the cost of adding retail to a future project. Between 100 and 150 town houses could set Oakland Mills aside from other village centers in Columbia, where supply is already limited.
About 20 acres of vacant or underused areas could open up to completely new development, according to the study. The study recommended current property own- ers focus on collaboration and partnerships, which are necessary for revitalization to proceed.
The Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, which opened in 1975, could serve as a case in point. The study raises the possibility of adding housing for seniors, along with an independent or assisted-living center, which could be sponsored in part by the interfaith center.
Barrie Sims, president of the interfaith center’s board of directors, said the center is open to ideas.
“We’re willing to talk to most anyone to find out what can be done and meet the needs of the area or people coming in from outside” Sims said.
New apartment construction is unlikely because of existing investment in rental housing and the presence of other units in more promising areas, according to the study.
“The transformation of the Oakland Mills Village Center relies on the actions and perseverance of private property owners — not the public sector alone. Waiting for solutions to just appear is unlikely and implausible,” the study states. fwaseem@baltsun.com
In 2015, a task force created by the Oakland Mills Community Association laid out aspirations for the center, which opened in 1969 and is challenged by its insulated location and retail competition from nearby shopping areas.
“I think we all recognize that something needs to be done. The village center is not serving its purpose,” said Mike Shaw, building manager for Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, located in the village center. “A lot of the tenants there are just having a hard time making ends meet,”
About11percent of the property is vacant.
Last September, Weis Markets converted the former Food Lion into a Weis, while a former Exxon gas station has not been replaced.
Progress — albeit slow — has been made, said Kay Wisniewski, a member of the Oakland Mills Village Board.
“This really is a very helpful report. … It’s not spectacular. But really good things are happening,” Wisniewski said.
Earlier this month Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman announced nearly $1.25 million in upgrades to Bridge Columbia, a pedestrian crossing above U.S.
29 that connects Oakland Mills and east Columbia to the downtown lakefront area.
Residents have hoped the bridge would better connect the village center to downtown, and upgrades to modernize the bridge are scheduled to begin this fall.
Cathy Spain, a member of the advocacy group Friends of Bridge Columbia, said she was disappointed by the study, which she hoped would push for trail-oriented development.
“We need to find our niche. I think for this village, the niche is the trail and the niche is the parkland and somehow we need to take advantage of that,” Spain said.
“I’m disappointed in the study because I don’t think there is something there that will excite the community and spur the development we’d like to see.”
Future plans would cycle through the revitalization process for Columbia’s village centers that the County Council passed in 2009. While the county has no plans to buy the village center, the county is open to examining economic incentives throughout the project, said Val Lazdins, director of the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning.
Hampered by parking requirements, limited land availability and a multimilliondollar price tag, a major sports facility is unlikely to come to the center. The facility could require the removal of parts of the village center and create a barrier to surrounding neighborhoods, according to the study.
The center already houses the Columbia Ice Rink, where the Columbia Association plans to invest $2.4 million toward upgrades, according to Jane Dembner, Columbia Association’s director of planning and community affairs.
“It’s not going anywhere. It’s here to stay,” Dembner said of the ice rink.
The study suggests revenue from selling market-rate units could help a developer pay for the cost of adding retail to a future project. Between 100 and 150 town houses could set Oakland Mills aside from other village centers in Columbia, where supply is already limited.
About 20 acres of vacant or underused areas could open up to completely new development, according to the study. The study recommended current property own- ers focus on collaboration and partnerships, which are necessary for revitalization to proceed.
The Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, which opened in 1975, could serve as a case in point. The study raises the possibility of adding housing for seniors, along with an independent or assisted-living center, which could be sponsored in part by the interfaith center.
Barrie Sims, president of the interfaith center’s board of directors, said the center is open to ideas.
“We’re willing to talk to most anyone to find out what can be done and meet the needs of the area or people coming in from outside” Sims said.
New apartment construction is unlikely because of existing investment in rental housing and the presence of other units in more promising areas, according to the study.
“The transformation of the Oakland Mills Village Center relies on the actions and perseverance of private property owners — not the public sector alone. Waiting for solutions to just appear is unlikely and implausible,” the study states. fwaseem@baltsun.com
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
