Downtown Columbia Plan

This report, completed at the end of 2023, provides the second update on the implementation of the 2010 Downtown Columbia Plan. Focused on development, transit and transportation, arts and culture, and the environment, this report provides a status update regarding the implementation of the goals and vision laid out for Columbia's downtown in the 2010 master plan.

• 2023 Downtown Columbia Monitoring Report 
• 2023 Downtown Columbia Monitoring Report StoryMap
• 2018 Downtown Columbia Monitoring Report 
• 2018 Downtown Columbia Monitoring Report StoryMap 

• Downtown-Wide Design Guidelines
• Crescent Neighborhood Design Guidelines
• Lakefront Core Design Guidelines | Lakefront Core Implementation Plan
• Merriweather-Symphony Woods Neighborhood Design Guidelines
• The Mall Neighborhood Design Guidelines
• Warfield Neighborhood Design Guidelines

Downtown Columbia Planning Documents

• Downtown Columbia: A Community Vision (2007)

Environmental Studies

• Best Management Practices for Symphony Stream and Lake Kittamaqundi Watersheds
• Merriweather and Crescent Environmental Study

Transportation Studies

• Part 1: Downtown Transit Center and Circulator Shuttle
• Part 2: Downtown Columbia to Oakland Mills Multimodal Connection
• Broken Land Parkway/US Route 29 North-South Connector Road
• Little Patuxent Parkway/US 29 Interchange

The Downtown Columbia Affordable Housing Plan calls for 900 affordable housing units serving different income ranges and with different funding sources to be built throughout Downtown Columbia, of which 417 affordable units will be built by the Howard County Housing Commission across five different sites.

The Performing Arts Center and Artists Flats mixed-use project is currently under construction at the site of Toby’s Dinner Theater. The Artists Flats portion of the building includes 174 apartments of which 87 are to be affordable for households earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

The next site planned for affordable housing by the Housing Commission is located in the southwest quadrant of the Merriweather District adjacent to the new Marlow apartment building and Color Burst Park.

The Merriweather Affordable Housing project will consist of more than 120 total units of housing, of which 50% will be affordable for households earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The Housing Commission is conducting a design and financing assessment with the goal of maximizing the number of affordable housing units on site, which means the total number may increase beyond 120 units.

Affordable housing financing and construction can be a lengthy and complex process. The Housing Commission anticipates beginning the process of securing financing the project in 2026, which is a necessary first step to start the project. A typical timeframe from application to completion is in the range of three to four years.

The Howard County Housing Commission is partnering with the nonprofit Enterprise Community Development to develop the project. As required by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program that will be used to finance the development, the project will be owned by a limited partnership, which will be controlled by a Housing Commission affiliate and will include an investor that will purchase the LIHTC credits. This is also the ownership and financing structure used for the Artists Flats project.

The Housing Commission is Howard County’s housing authority. The mission of the Housing Commission is to provide and advocate for equitable housing affordability for the people of Howard County. 

Per the DRRA, low-income housing units are considered to be units affordable to households earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). In 2025, the AMI for the Baltimore Metropolitan Area is $130,300. Apartments rented at 60% AMI would be available to a family of four making up to $78,180 per year. The DRRA calls for 50% of the units in the Merriweather Affordable Housing project to be low-income housing units. The Commission intends to provide inclusive apartment homes for households with a wide range of incomes in the Downtown developments.

The DRRA originally called for the new Central Library and the Merriweather Affordable Housing to be built together in one building in the Merriweather District. This is similar to the DRRA requirements for the other mixed-use developments in Downtown Columbia, including the Performing Arts Center and Artists Flats, the Banneker Fire Station and planned Affordable Senior Housing, and the future Transit Center with affordable housing above.

Under the new proposed plan, the County will purchase land at the Columbia Lakefront for a new Central Library. The library can be designed on an ideal site at the Columbia Lakefront without the complication and complexity of including an affordable housing structure on top.  

Simultaneously, the Merriweather Affordable Housing project will proceed independently of the Central Library’s construction timeline. Designing a residential-only structure for the Merriweather Affordable Housing project will be more cost-efficient and can be constructed faster. Additionally, by separating out the Central Library project, the Merriweather Affordable Housing site can accommodate more affordable housing units than originally outlined in the DRRA.

The Central Library & Merriweather Affordable Housing proposal improves the foundation of the original DRRA by creating a better library and a better mixed-income housing development, while still adhering to the core requirements and vision of the DRRA for a vibrant and inclusive Downtown.