Comments on: New Town Columbia – Our Planned Community is Now At Risk https://howardcountyhcca.org/new-town-columbia-planned-community-now-risk/ A non-profit organization of concerned county residents Sat, 04 Mar 2017 12:51:01 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jean https://howardcountyhcca.org/new-town-columbia-planned-community-now-risk/#comment-222 Sat, 27 Sep 2014 15:42:30 +0000 http://howardcountyhcca.org/?p=2232#comment-222 In reply to Don.

My 2 cents: I have been hoping the new downtown and surrounding areas would be more conducive to walking, more than the ring around Lake K. Otherwise, I cannot help wondering if Reston, VA, has already gone the way that our lamenters worry about. I still wish for a town where the feeling “suburb” does not linger…but it’s not here yet except for those in areas near the mall.

Finally, I agree with comments about growth around Columbia. It is here and that’s that. I do not mind going “outside” along Rte 175 to shop if Columbia could have a friendlier downtown feel, the kind that Historic Main Street developers are looking for.

]]> By: Don https://howardcountyhcca.org/new-town-columbia-planned-community-now-risk/#comment-217 Fri, 19 Sep 2014 22:34:00 +0000 http://howardcountyhcca.org/?p=2232#comment-217 With all due respect, that ship has sailed! The big box stores have taken over the perimeter of Columbia, making the Township center irrelevant; the mall has been developed and overdeveloped to the point where no one wants to go there anymore, except for restaurants in movies, and store owners are dying a slow death, as a result; as stated, the Villages have been strangled by the shopping centers that surround the town, except for those that are now owned by REITs, and the REITs have pushed rent prices to the point where the average store cannot survive. In fact, a number of the stores in several of the villages have tried to sell, but cannot do so; no one wants to buy them, at their current lease rates. Columbia is quickly becoming a victim of its own success.

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