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$325M Columbia Lakefront redevelopment unveiled
The Howard Hughes Corporation is planning to invest $325 million into redeveloping the Lakefront District in downtown Columbia, the company announced Tuesday morning, a project that will eventually include 2 million square feet of medical offices, housing and retail.
Columbia’s Lakefront District is located in the area surrounding Lake Kittamaqundi and features restaurants, retail, a Whole Foods and the Merriweather Lakehouse Hotel.
The first phase of the redevelopment will start with a $45.8 million, four-story, 86,000-square-foot medical building in the southern part of the Lakefront District that is scheduled for delivery in 2024. One of the building’s tenants will be Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland, which plans to relocate from its current Columbia office, located near Howard County General Hospital. Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland will occupy 20% of the building.
Phase 1 will also include the construction of three residential buildings comprising a total of 625 units on the north side of the Lakefront District. These buildings, which are scheduled to begin construction in late 2022 or early 2023, with first occupancies tentatively planned for early 2025, will also have street-level retail space.
Approximately 10% of the housing in these buildings will be affordable units, according to Greg Fitchitt, president of the Columbia region for Howard Hughes.
Additionally, the renovation will include improvements to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, connecting pathways within the district to the existing 100-mile network of hiking and biking trails throughout Columbia. Wincopin Circle, also in the northern part of the Lakefront District, will be expanded and restructured to be more pedestrian-friendly. Two parks will also be included in the renovation.
“The new development includes generous streetscapes designed for the pedestrian and cyclist as opposed to the automobile,” said Fitchitt in an email. “Wider sidewalks, specialty paving and lush landscaping are being designed to human scale, with the car seen as an invited guest as opposed to the reigning occupant.”
Overall, Phase 1 of the plan is expected to cost upwards of $280 million and take several years to complete.
“Columbia is moving ahead on a path to realize its full potential, and the lakefront will always be a crown jewel. The investments announced today will add residents, businesses, restaurants and more to one of the centerpieces of our community, and will also enhance walkability,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said.
“It is exciting to see James Rouse’s vision come to life,” he added, referencing the developer who originally conceptualized, founded and built the community of Columbia in the 1960s.
The Howard Hughes Corortation, a national real estate firm based in Texas, has been working on the redevelopment of Columbia’s downtown since 2011. The redevelopment was the first project launched from the Downtown Columbia Plan, a plan passed in 2010 and subsequently amended in 2016 that outlines revitalization plans for downtown Columbia over a 30-year period.
Most recently, the Howard Hughes team has been working on redevelopments in the Merriweather District surrounding Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion concert venue; in the last year, the team brought several new retail and restaurant options to the area and broke ground on a seven-story residential building.
The ongoing redevelopment of downtown Columbia aims to transform the suburb into a “third city” located between Washington and Baltimore.
The announcement did not contain information on what might be included in future phases of the Lakefront District redevelopment, but Fitchitt said that those projects will focus on “creating a vibrant town center that will be treasured for generations to come” and “will include a mix of uses.”
