Big-box stores could become big trouble in Columbia. The village centers were intended to serve as neighborhood shopping hubs and gathering places for communities and local businesses, but the influx of big-box retailers, such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, are putting that vision in jeopardy.
“When you have options to go the big box and buy things at wholesale, you have a tendency to do that,” said Pearl Atkinson-Stewart, a member of the Columbia Association Board of Directors for Owen Brown. “I?m not sure that the villages that have their centers in remote areas will be able to compete.”
Representing the Village of Owen Brown, Atkinson-Stewart?s community has faired well despite the growth of national retail stores in the region. Her village center features a pharmacy, deli, baker, community shops, a dentist, salons and a grocery store.
Last summer, the Giant grocery store in Wilde Lake announced it would be closing, taking with it a uniting force in the community. The first village center built in Columbia?s 40-year history, Wilde Lake suffered its biggest blow with this announcement. Only 25,000-square feet, the Giant was vastly undersized when compared with the average Wal-Mart Supercenter that takes up nearly 187,000 square feet of space. And while a 160,000-square-foot Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is planned to go in at Snowden River Parkway and McGraw Road, that location will do little to help the village centers.
In June 2006, King?s Contrivance also lost its own grocery store, a Safeway. But In its place, a Harris Teeter has moved in. An upscale food store, Teeter caters to a wealthier demographic. The U.S. census bureau reports that Howard County is the second-wealthiest county in the nation, with the average household income hovering at just below $88,600, business are competing for a chunk of that money.
But some consumers still favor the atmosphere of the village centers.
“I think it?s very peaceful here,” said 36-year-old Alison Rudo, an Elkridge resident and teacher in Columbia who was shopping at Wilde Lake on Monday.
More information
Columbia?s village centers:
» Columbia Crossing
» Dorsey?s Search
» Harper?s Choice
» Hickory Ridge
» King?s Contrivance
» Oakland Mills
» Owen Brown
» River Hill
» Wilde Lake
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