Editor’s note: This is the final of a three-part series examining selected topics of General Growth Properties Inc.’s plan to redevelop downtown Columbia.
The grand plan to redevelop downtown Columbia includes the staples of a plethora of new offices, residences and shops, but its success will hinge on efforts to make it a model for green communities.
“With Howard County’s efforts toward making the county a model green community, the Columbia Town Center redevelopment has the potential to be the single largest effort toward that end and a catalyst that invigorates the application of green technologies and sustainability countywide,” the plan stated.
“These efforts will undoubtedly enhance a natural sense of pride in a place that many Columbia residents already share and might also appeal to others in the county.”
Baltimore City-based Biohabitats Inc., an environmental consulting and design, has been working with developer General Growth Properties Inc. on the environmental parts of the plan.
“From a broad, regional prospective, Columbia has a real opportunity to become a exemplary community with this Smart Growth and desire to become an active, mixed-use urban center,” said Chris Streb, an ecological engineer with Biohabitats.
“And if you have enough density and recognize the benefits of all the people, you really need to focus on the open spaces too.”
GGP plans to create a sustainable environment using green technology, nature, a central park and outdoor spaces.
Specifics of the sustainability program include:
- Public spaces and amenities where residents can socialize, work, shop and play;
- An increased ease in mobility, where residents can walk to accommodations or access public transit more readily;
- Energy-efficient buildings;
- A healthy environment with clean water, clean air and increased connections to the natural environment.
The sustainability program will be effective with GGP’s plan to protect natural resources with stream and wetland restoration, forest restoration and watersheds and storm management, according to GGP officials.
The need for these energy-efficient buildings, or green buildings, is becoming necessary nationwide because of the rising cost of energy and problems with pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and water quality, stated the plan.
Many in the community praised the environmental component of the plan and said it was in sync with the rest of the plan’s vision.
“GGP has proposed a sustainability framework that will seek to keep the human-built environment in balance with the natural environment,” said Jud Malone, president of Columbia Tomorrow, a community group advocating change for Town Center.
“It is a comprehensive land and community framework that will guide our efforts far into the future.”
