Parking and Adaptive Reuse

Two buildings in Columbia are adapting to new uses and dealing with resultant parking challenges. On Dobbin Road, the building that now houses the Frisco Grille and two other retail uses was originally constructed for industrial use. In downtown Columbia, a former office building is being converted to retail. They both have different parking lot issues to deal with as a result of these changes.

On Dobbin Road, the owners of 6695 Dobbin Road want to reduce the setback from Dobbin from the existing 25 feet to the county minimum of 7 feet in order to accommodate 20 new parking spaces. Anyone who has ever tried to get a parking space at the Frisco Grille can attest to the need for more spaces. This is indicative of the changing nature of the Dobbin Road corridor, originally conceived for more industrial type uses which generally required fewer parking spaces.

In downtown Columbia, Howard Hughes is seeking to reduce the number of parking spaces at the former Rouse Company headquarters building. As part of the buildings redevelopment the developer proposes to reconfigure the existing parking lots which will result in a reduction of 98 parking spaces. Part of this reduction is due to mitigation of storm water runoff. The reconfigured parking lot will treat “50% of the existing impervious area for water quality within Micro-bioretention facilities within the parking islands.”

This is a huge improvement over existing conditions that offers no storm water mitigation.

In both instances the parking ratios will remain in compliance with county zoning regulations for the new uses.