Requiem for the Tower

The site is stabilized, the deposit money is being returned and the sales center is now by appointment only. The Sun reported today that everyone who had a reservation with a deposit for the Plaza Residences would receive their deposit back. WCI will continue to honor the reservations.

“"We appreciate their patience as we look forward to the continued successful development of the Plaza Residences," Robert H. Grabner Jr., vice president/senior project manager of the tower division of WCI Mid-Atlantic U.S. Region Inc., said in a statement.”

They say the earliest the project could get going again would be around mid 2009. Of course this isn’t the result of any local pressure. The condominium market is taking the biggest hit in the housing downturn. Ironically, WCI may be thankful that the anti tower legislation and lawsuit held them up for awhile. Right now the last thing that company needs is unsold units.

Liz Bobo was even strangely compassionate in her quote. "It's an example right in our own community of the impact of the housing slump,"

How very insightful.

Scene This Week In...

“Excuse me sir. You are not allowed to take pictures in the mall.”

I was standing on the second level of the mall snapping pictures of what appeared to be a kids show for my Scene This Week In Columbia. The crowd was large, the strollers were double parked, and the kids seemed to having a blast. It was a perfect Columbia moment until the mall gendarme appeared.

My first reaction is that he must be kidding but he had that no nonsense mall security guard look about him. I simply said. “Well I already have, haven’t I?”

With that comment he gave me a look and then turned on his heel and left. I took more pictures.
How long has this no picture policy been in place?

It is a pretty stupid policy. I for one intend to ignore it. If I were GGP I’d be very careful about aggressively enforcing it too. It smacks of the same PR misstep as the poinsettia tree fiasco.

That same morning I had an appointment cancelled at the last moment so I used the opening in my otherwise hectic schedule to drop in for a cup of coffee at the Bean Hollow coffee shop on Main Street. As much as the Lakeside coffee shop in Columbia functions as the community center for Town Center, Bean Hollow does the same for Ellicott City. Interestingly, both coffee shops share the same DNA. They were both started by Mike Lentz who operated them as Riverside coffee shops before selling them off and moving to North Carolina.
Today, Bean Hollow is owned and operated by Gretchen Shuey.

You Just Can’t Make Some Folks Happy

The Sun reported today that Greg Hamm, the newly minted “General Manager” of Columbia for GGP, spoke to an “open meeting” of the Columbia Association board of directors about his firms plans for the redevelopment of Town Center. His predecessor had been heavily criticized for holding private meetings with individual community groups.

In case you are interested, I attended one of these meetings and posted about it here, here and here.

Still, it seems that just wasn’t good enough for Alex Hekimian, president for life of the Alliance for a Better Columbia who was quoted as saying “There have been a lot of private meetings, and those people have gotten a lot more information than was available in public sessions. That's troubling. If the information was good enough for the private groups, why isn't it good enough for the public session?"

Sheesh!

How would he know what was presented at those meetings if he didn’t attend one of these meetings?

I can see why some people refer to his group as the Alliance of Bitter Columbians.

We’ve Got A Great Dump

Last Saturday I packed up the last five years worth of retired computers and related peripherals and headed out to the county dump. Mama Wordbones has been badgering me to get rid of them since we first moved into this house two years ago.

I finally got around to it. My prior reluctance to perform this task was my inability to accept the fact that these machines no longer held any value. I knew they were kaput but I kept hoping that someone would want them.

I finally accepted the fact that no one wants them and so off to the dump I went.

Of course they don’t call these places dumps anymore. They are called landfills and ours is run by the Department of Environmental Services.

A dump by any other name is still a dump. It is a place where you dump the stuff that you no longer want or need. It is the repository of last resort for unwanted items.

Our dump is more like an orphanage though. In the old days I recall driving out to open area with tractors and bulldozers and just dumping my stuff in a big pile. At Alpha Ridge there are individual stations for electronics, plastics, metals, paper, yard waste and so on.

The dumpster for computers and televisions goes to a recycler who will extract the last bits of value out of them.

It is all very efficient and very cool.

Not That They Will But They Might ‘Cause They Can

My good friend Jim Troy who publishes the Howard/Arundel Report, reports that the portfolio of office buildings owned by GGP in Town Center are now “eligible” to be sold. Jim reports that “the 10-year moratorium on selling assets that were part of the Rouse Company REIT lapses this year on the approximately million square feet portfolio.”

Interesting. If GGP needed to generate cash this would certainly attract attention from investors, particularly foreign buyers looking to capitalize on the favorable exchange rates.

Ah, but that is unlikely to occur. GGP has too much at stake in Town Center right now. It will be much easier for them to achieve their redevelopment plans if they control the surrounding properties. Besides that, the Town Center buildings have a significant vacancy level right now (approximately 30%) which pushes down the value. It is always better to sell an office property when it is 90% leased preferably under long term leases to strong credit tenants. These types of tenants will be more attracted to these buildings if GGP is able to create the type of Town Center they envision.

Panhandling Columbia Style Part 2

Back in April of last year I wrote a post about a panhandler working the LL Bean plaza of the The Mall In Columbia. This past week I had my second panhandling experience while I was taking a picture for another post of the Brunswick Bowling sign on Carved Stone in Columbia.

While I was taking the picture I was approached by a stocky fellow who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. His hair was cut short and he was dressed in typical Columbia casual (warm up jacket, sweat pants, etc.). He walked with big strides towards me. Before he got too close he shouted out “Hey buddy could you help me out so I can catch the MARC train into Baltimore. I just got out of prison.”

He stopped and added. “Look I’m just bein honest here.”

My knee jerk reaction was a quick “Sorry pal,” and he simply shrugged his shoulders, turned and headed off again.

As he walked away I began to have second thoughts. What if he really had been recently released by some local correctional institution?

There are more than a few of them in Howard County after all. I mean why else would he just blurt that out?

I liked the fact that he was dealing with his post penal situation in such an open and honest manner. I called him back over and laid a twenty on him. He was a little surprised and very grateful.

As he strode off in the direction of the Starbucks on the other side of Carved Stone I had two thoughts. For one, there isn’t a MARC station anywhere near here. Secondly, if he truly had just been released from prison then panhandling was probably a violation of his parole.

Howard Lite

Is it just me or does anyone else agrees that the Sun has significantly pared down their Howard County coverage?

The new tabloid format cannot the mask the fact that there is lot less meat in the package. It isn’t as noticeable in the online version. It’s much more evident, to me anyway in the print version.

They seem to have come down to level of The Washington Post for Howard County coverage.

April at Merriweather

I just learned that Santana will be performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday April 6th.

April 6th?

Did I miss something?

Have they enclosed Merriweather already?

They haven’t of course. This is the earliest I have ever heard of a show being held at the outdoor theatre. I don’t know about the other Santana fans out there but I just can’t see paying $55-$75 to sit in the cold and watch a concert.

Scene This Week In...

Okay, so I skipped a week there. My bad. I don’t know what it is but since Christmas I seem to have more things to do and less time to do them. January and February always seem like such bleak months anyway.

But there is beauty in a gray winter’s day and that is exactly what I found on College Avenue about a mile outside of the Ellicott City historic district for my Scene This Week In Ellicott City. These guys were just standing around in a pasture as I drove by. I spotted the white one at the crest of a hill and thought perhaps I could get a closer shot if I stopped and walked over to the fence. I pulled over on the shoulder, got out, walked over to the fence and started zooming in and snapping some shots. Before long the pinto decided to come to check me out which provided me the close up. Fortunately, the white horse was also curious and came close enough for me to get a decent picture too.

For the Scene In Columbia I picked the Brunswick bowling sign. I recall when Brunswick opened this bowling alley back in 1974. I was around back then and I recall it was a big deal to be able to go bowling in Columbia rather than heading over to the Brunswick lanes on Route 40 in Ellicott City. Today the bowling alley remains as popular as ever while the neighborhood surrounding it has gradually shifted from industrial to office and retail. Just across Snowden River Parkway, Rock Realty has demolished a warehouse formerly owned and occupied by an electrical contractor. They will be building a Chevy Chase Bank and possibly a hotel and other retail in its place.

Barely A Whimper

Another of the Mall In Columbia's original local tenants has left. Hyatt & Co men’s clothing store recently closed its mall store and relocated to Maple Lawn. How come there wasn't any outcry over this departure?

Hyatt caters to the fashion forward men’s market which is a retail category that has certainly taken it’s lumps over the years as mens clothes have trended to a more casual look. The store relocated from its original location to the Nordstrom’s wing of the mall when the mall expanded with the arrival of Nordstrom.

I guess this isn’t such big news because Hyatt is staying in business. They have managed to adjust to the times and that just doesn’t make much of a story.

Wegman's Saga Part One

There was a story yesterday in the Sun about Wegman’s receiving initial site plan approval for their proposed store in Columbia. The action by the Planning Board predictably upset the union folks who are challenging the decision to allow the gourmet grocer to locate in an industrial zone. They are calling the zoning action “illegal.”

It sounds like the old Comp Lite argument all over again.

Anyway…

It is disingenuous to suggest that this location is still an industrial zone. It is true that in the original plan (or was it vision?) for Columbia it was intended as an industrial area. That was back when GE was operating a huge appliance manufacturing plant across Snowden River Parkway from this site. This area was (and still is) part of the Seiling Industrial Park.

Today GE is gone and the former appliance park is now a mix of warehouses, retail, office and flex buildings with the retail concentrated along Snowden River Parkway. The proposed Wegman’s site was originally home to American Hospital Supply which later became part of Baxter Healthcare which later spun it off to Allegiance which was in turn acquired by Cardinal Health. All this time the building and property were actually owned by the State Farm Insurance Company and leased to these different companies.

Approximately six years ago, State Farm sold the property to a group of local investors who set up a limited partnership called Science Fiction. The Science Fiction partnership determined that the original Final Development Plan for this parcel allowed for gas stations, banks and restaurants. They developed plans for tearing down the building and putting up a variety of retail buildings much like the layout that is now on the site of the former Pontiac/GMC car dealership across the street on McGaw Road (Green Turtle, Orinico Coffee, etc.). Before this development program got very far the partnership received a purchase offer from Jack Antwerpen that was more than twice what they paid for it. Antwerpen originally planned to put a Toyota dealership on the site but ran into some difficulty with Toyota for that location.

Meanwhile Antwerpen temporarily leased the property out to HBO films. During this time they began discussions with Wegman’s. Wegman’s had been scouting for a Columbia location for some time. The Rouse Company had tried to entice them to locate in what is now Gateway Exchange (Lowes, Costco, Trader Joes, etc.). Apparently Wegman’s preferred this Snowden River Parkway location.

The point is, considering all of the other uses that could have ended up at this property, Wegman’s probably makes the most sense.

What doesn’t make sense is an industrial use.

Scene This Week In...

STWI took a brief hiatus over the Christmas / New Years holiday. Actually, the break is more related to a bad case of writers inertia that crept up on me. Some may call it writers block but I don’t think that adequately describes my particular malady. I’ve had plenty of ideas and topics in my head I just lacked the motivation to post them.

Anyway…

A good dose of nice weather has helped me slug off those winter blues. In fact, everyone I’ve encountered seemed to be buoyed by the nice weather of yesterday and today. For the Scene This Week in Columbia I snapped a photo of some folks enjoying a late lunch at the outdoor tables at PF Changs at the Mall in Columbia. I was over at the mall getting a haircut from Wayne Sheperd at Cavalloro & Co. With all the brouhaha over the closing of Bun Penny and the supposed demise of local businesses in the mall, I am reminded that Cavalloro & Co has been a mall tenant since the mall first opened. The owners are the same but they did change the name some years ago. It used to be called Rex’s Place.

In Ellicott City, the scene I chose was the reincarnation of Sarah and Desmonds. Sarah and Desmonds Gourmet Bakery and Vegetarian Café used to be on Main Street. I am not sure why they closed that location but now they recently reopened on Old Columbia Road (near The Well) in a space formerly occupied by Wessels Flower Shop which relocated to a space on Main Street formerly occupied by Su Casa. The nice young man behind the counter is Christian Lepson.

And Now To Sports...

Since none of our local NFL teams are playing football anymore this year, it’s nice to at least have something interesting going on for the fans. The big news today is that the Washington Redskins coach, Joe Gibbs, will not be returning to the team next year. Apparently he quit but undoubtedly some fans will have a different opinion on that.

The Ravens were already in the search for a new coach after Steve Bisciotti sacked Brian Billick at the end of a very disappointing season.

Will both teams now go after Marty Schottenhiemer, the coach who was fired by the San Diego Chargers last year after finishing 14 - 2?

Should they?

Weirdly enough both teams could end up in with a Schottenheimer for a coach. Marty’s son Brian, currently the New York Jets offensive coordinator, is also interviewing for the Baltimore job.

If Brian Schottenheimer becomes the new Ravens coach and Marty Schottenheimer becomes the new Redskins coach they could both move their families to Howard County, right between the two cities.

I had to make a local connection in order to justify this sports post.

And, while I’m at it, anybody have a Super Bowl prediction they care to share?

Empty Building For Sale

When I last wrote a post back in November about this building it had just been completed and was actively trying to attract its first tenant. Two months later the building owner, Orix Real Estate Equities is offering 7021 Columbia Gateway Drive for sale even though no leases have been signed.

It is not exactly a fire sale. Orix is simply expanding their options for this asset. They are hoping that a company wishing to own a building as opposed to leasing one will be attracted by this offer. Orix believes that they can get a premium price for this 104,000 square foot, five story Class A office building because of its location in Columbia Gateway and the fact that it is ready to go. If a company wants to build their own building like this it typically takes about eighteen months. Orix is further encouraged by the recent sale of the Micros building next door. Last summer, 7031 Columbia Gateway Drive sold for around $250.00 per square foot setting a new record sales price for a Columbia office building.

Good luck.

7031 Columbia Gateway Drive has two blue chip tenants (Micros and Motorola) with long leases. 7021 Columbia Gateway Drive is empty with no leases. I happen to think it’s ugly too.

Take Me To The River

The Patapsco River that is. Just across the bridge from downtown Ellicott City, the mill town of Oella is going upscale. Charles Wagant, the president of the Oella Company has struck a deal with Steuart-Kret Homes for 11 sites in the historic mill community. The project, dubbed Granite Hill, includes five existing historic homes that will be restored and at least three custom homes that will be attached to existing historic structures overlooking the Patapsco River. Prices for the custom homes will be in the million dollar range.

This has been a long time coming for Charles. Working out of his restored church in what can be described as downtown Oella, Charles has been a tireless promoter of restoring Oella and enhancing public awareness of the Patapsco River valley His strong support helped the Grist Mill Trail become a reality after years of hard fought battles with other property owners in the area.

If you have never wandered up into Oella it is worth the trip. No stores or shopping but some great views of the river and a pretty good idea of what it looked like back when the original mill, was chartered by the State of Maryland in 1808.

Happy Birthday Hedgehog!

Local blog, The Hedgehog Report, just celebrated its fifth anniversary at the end of December. In blog years that makes The Hedgehog Report ancient. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hedgehog himself, Dave Wissing and can tell you that he’s a nice guy and doesn't look anything like a hedgehog.

Well okay maybe just a little bit like one.

I think his blog gets something like 1,000 visits a day. Though he primarily focuses on political polls, he will frequently post on local issues as well.

Five years of blogging make The Hedgehog Report the granddaddy of local blogging.

Congratulations Gramps!

In This Months Business Monthly

The January issue of The Business Monthly is now on the street and online. This month I wrote about Claire Lea and her successful protest to bring back the poinsettia tree to the mall’s center court fountain for the 2008 holiday season. I happen to think that Claire and her friends Sandi Carbotti and Janet Shinski embody a spirit that is uniquely Columbia.

What do you think?

This is your chance to chime in and toss a bouquet or a brick, your choice. You can find the column here.

County Framework for Town Center

In my original post on this topic I said I would share my thoughts on the county’s framework document for Columbia’s downtown over the weekend.

It’s been a long weekend. I realize its Tuesday but today feels like Sunday so I figure I’m still on time. Some logic eh?

Anyway…

I am about 36 pages into the document and I have begun to see that GGP’s draft vision plan that they began sharing at private meetings earlier this fall fits very nicely into this framework. I attended one of these meetings and posted about it (with pictures) here, here, and here. Of course these posts don’t include the narrative that was provided by GGP’s Project Director, Chuck McMahon but I can tell you that GGP’s and the county’s thinking are aligned.

Of course the devil is in the details.

The other thing I noted was the makeup of the focus group that advised the county. It includes representatives from every local interest group. Of course, you can never make everyone happy and those who didn’t get everything they wanted in this document are already whining about it.

No surprise there.

Happy New Year!

A very happy new year to all the readers of Tales of Two Cities!

Last night, Mama Wordbones and I celebrated quietly in our home in Ellicott City after a nice little dinner at Strapazza. We got a little freaked out however when, at the stroke of midnight as we watched the ball drop in Times Square, the power went out in our neighborhood. For awhile there we wondered if this was some sort of terrorist attack but by 1:30 AM the power came back on. Mama Wordbones was fast asleep by then.

Anyone else care to share a New Years Eve experience?

Bun Penny Brouhaha

Darrell Nevin emailed me a copy of the Mackenzie Ditter email about the impending closing of the Bun Penny store in the Mall in Columbia.

“Not sure if you knew this or saw it, but certain it is fodder for one of your columns.”

How could I have not seen it? Freemarket blogged about it here and Evan Coren blogged about it here. The Sun papers had a story about the closing and last night, on the eleven o’clock news on Channel 13, there was yet another story about it.

From my perspective, I just don’t see what the big deal is. Sure, it is sad that a family business is closing. That is always sad. It is sad for the owners, the employees and the longtime customers but I hardly think it is big news. Over the years many family run businesses have quietly closed their doors in Ellicott City and nobody ever made a big deal out of it.

I have known Bun Penny since it was opened by the Sachs family many years ago. For the longest time the store was the place to get lunch in Columbia. It was Columbia’s own Zabars.

Times change and so do peoples buying habits. Over the last few years I watched as Bun Penny slowly faded from popularity. I trace the beginning of this slide back to when the mall was renovated and the Lord and Taylor department store was added. What once was the mall’s front door was no longer. The entrance where Bun Penny was located took on a different character. Seldom did I see full tables in the glassed in seating area. I don’t think the store adjusted to this dramatic change in traffic patterns. Also, new competition sprouted up in town center. The Lakeside coffee shop surely took some business away too. That is what occurs in a dynamic marketplace. Either a retailer adjusts to these changes or they risk losing relevance.

That is hardly big news. It is just a fact of life.

Downtown Columbia: A Community Vision

It’s on the street now. The county’s long awaited and already debated framework for the development of Town Center is now available here.

It is 58 pages with two appendices. Don’t be discouraged by the page count though, there are only about 25 pages worth of meat.

I’ll read it this weekend and post my thoughts later.

Raggin On Ranazul

I don’t often write restaurant reviews. I defer to HoCoLoCo Girl in that area. However, once in awhile, just every so often, I have an experience so awful that it compels me to write a post about it.

I had just such awful experience at Ranazul last night. The thing is, I am quite certain that the other two tables in the “La Galeria” room we shared were also having awful experiences.

The short story for those with short attention spans is that the service stunk but the food was, in some cases exceptional and in all cases good. That makes the choice as to whether to return for a second chance a little more difficult to make.

For those who like the details, we arrived around 7:00 PM without reservations, a party of three. We were seated within ten minutes, so far so good.

Then we were left alone, completely alone with the paintings in the La Galeria room. We had water and menus from the hostess. I expected someone to offer to get us a cocktail while we looked over the menu. I was disappointed. At least fifteen minutes passed. Soon though another couple arrived and was seated at the table next to us. In very short order a waiter appeared at their table, welcoming them and offering to get cocktails and warm bread.

I sat watching, wishing he were at my table. Meanwhile, at the table next to us, the waiter was cheerily going over the menu and the specials in great detail. I heard him mention that they were out of the pear salad.

We still had no waiter at our table. This was getting ridiculous. Finally, I decided to go see if I could find someone to wait on our table. While hanging out at the server station I saw the guy who was serving the table next to us. I leaned over to him and said I’d appreciate it if he could find someone to come to our table. He nodded and I returned to my seat and waited.

And waited at least another fifteen minutes At long last a waitress appeared. She said she was ready to take our orders.

“What about the specials?” I was feeling a little cheated here.

“There are no specials.”

“Are you sure? I could have sworn I heard the waiter at the table next to us mention something about specials.”

“No. No specials. Would you like me to explain the menu to you?”

At this point I am getting pretty annoyed. The thought of getting up and leaving crosses my mind. Then again, I’m hungry. That’s why I came here.

We ordered a couple of glasses of wine and five tapas dishes. We had plenty of time to read through the menu during our no waiter period.

And then we waited some more.

Meanwhile, at the table next to us, things were also beginning to go south. His entrée came out, but hers didn’t. They began to exchange sympathetic glances with us.

Our glasses of wine arrived followed shortly by three of our tapas dishes. One of them was a salmon avocado sushi concoction that was delicious. Another was calamari and the third one was something called arepas, which was crab, shrimp and polenta with a sauce that was exceptional.

We polished these off in short order. The lady next to us still hadn’t received her entrée.

We all waited together. Soon, a third couple was escorted into La Galeria.

Our waitress reappeared and said that one of our choices, a salmon with crushed cashews would take a little longer. We told her we’d wanted to order two more tapas dishes and two more glasses of wine. We decided that since we were seeing her so infrequently that we’d better get everything covered while she was there.

The rest of the evening was more of the same. Soon we began laughing with the other two tables. The newest arrivals, having already begun to wonder if they were ever going to see a waiter asked, “How long have you all been here?”

“We got here last night,” I replied which drew laughter from all three tables. The lady at the table next to us, who had finally received her entrée, stated that their water had just seemed to disappear for long periods of time.

So, in conclusion to my ragging post, that I sincerely hope that the Ranazians were simply having a bad night. I may give them a try again but if they offer to stick me back in a table in La Galeria, I’m bolting

A Stroll through Downtown

On the Friday before Christmas I was in Town Center on business. I had to drop by clients offices in the Park View office building and the Merrill Lynch building. I also needed to stop by Clyde’s to pick up some gift coins. I decided to accomplish these visits on foot, getting a ground level perspective of a pedestrian navigating through Town Center. It wasn’t pretty.

Leaving my car parked in the Park View office building garage, I walked along the outside sidewalk towards 20 Columbia Corporate Center. This requires crossing the mall entrance road which on a good day can be challenging. The Friday before Christmas cannot be considered a good day. Still, I managed to cross without getting hit and only received nasty looks from the cars who grudgingly respected a pedestrian’s right of way. The sidewalk on this side of town is not exactly inviting. At regular intervals street light poles sprout from the center of the walkway creating a bit of obstacle course.

When I reached the front of 20 Columbia Corporate Center I turned left towards the mall and the Merrill Lynch Building. Coming down alongside the JC Penney store. I was struck by the garbage and leaves that littered the curbs in this area.

After exiting the Merrill Lynch Building I crossed over Little Patuxent Parkway on the pedestrian bridge and down towards the Lakeside coffee shop. It was there that I encountered Roger Caplan and Mary Ellen Duncan. It seems that whenever I stop in Lakeside I run into someone I know. After a quick chat and cup of coffee I continued down to Clyde’s to get my gift coins. For my return walk I opted to cut through the mall exiting at the Food court entrance. This was probably the faster route and certainly it was more pedestrian friendly, even with the holiday crowds.
All in all, my little walk reinforced my belief that Town Center needs a fresh perspective and a more pedestrian friendly environment.

Sorry Dan

Matt and Dan

So today I dropped by Heavenly Hams in Dorsey Search Village Center to pick up my previously aforementioned turkey and ham and I run into Dave.




"Hey, did you check out my blog?"



"Yeah, it was great but you got my name wrong," he says as points to his Heavenly Ham nametag which very clearly says "Dan."



"Shit. I'm sorry. I'll fix it tonight."

Sorry about that Dan.



I gotta start writing this stuff down...

Scene This Week In...

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is that strange phenomena that compels women (and some men) to bake up batches cookies and other yummy treats. Last night Mama Wordbones and the girl were happily baking away in our kitchen in Ellicott City. That inspired this week’s scene in Ellicott City.

If you’ve never purchased a ham or a turkey from Heavenly Ham in Dorsey’s Search Village Center you are probably unaware of the preparations this store makes for the annual holiday rush. Matt and Dave are two of the guys who will hand over hams and turkeys to the throngs of shoppers who will be descending on this small shop over the next few days. Your first clue that this is no ordinary sandwich shop is the chains and stanchions for crowd control that begin outside the store doors. On Christmas Eve people will be lined up well before the store opens at nine.

This year I’m picking mine up on Sunday.

Meridian Square

The county wants to purchase a 15,000 square foot floor of the proposed 60,000 square foot Meridian Square office project in Oakland Mills. The project is proposed for the site that formerly housed a gas station next to the village center. The developer says that he needs the county commitment in order to secure financing for the building.

Rubbish.

The developer needs the county commitment so that they can secure “favorable” financing for the project. The project could move forward without the county purchasing a floor. It would simply require that the developer put up more equity.

I have no problem with the notion of having the county spread offices and services around the county as opposed to one central location. If the county can serve as a catalyst to redevelopment I am all for it. My problem with this deal is the way it has come down. The developer buys the site, announces the project and then says he can’t do it without county support. To me that says he should have never bought the site in the first place.

The way it should happen is that the county buys the site, solicits development proposals and then picks a proposal that offers the best terms to county.

If the county does proceed with this deal they should get the space below cost in recognition of the contribution their commitment makes to the project. In other words, the county needs to get a real sweetheart deal from Metroventures.

Claire Lea Needs Something To Do

Marc Fisher had a follow up story to the poinsettia tree saga in this mornings Washington Post. I think Marc's column yesterday was instrumental in causing the GGP about face on the tree. It appears that the new sheriff in town took control of the situation and showed mall management the error of their ways.

Nice job Greg!

Geary Got It!

I still can’t quite believe it but it appears that GGP is caving in on the poinsettia tree in the mall. The mall issued the following press release today:

POINSETTIA TREE TO RETURN TO THE MALL IN COLUMBIA
-General Growth Properties Works With Columbia Community
To Resurrect Tree-

(COLUMBIA, MD), December 13, 2007 – Executives from General Growth Properties (GGP), owners of The Mall In Columbia, today announced that the poinsettia tree will once again return to The Mall In Columbia for the 2008 holiday season. After witnessing the show of support for the tree from the Columbia community, GGP has decided to bring the holiday symbol back to the center.

“The community of Columbia has spoken and we heard loud and clear,” said Karen Geary, senior general manager, The Mall In Columbia. “GGP is committed to this community and recognizes our role as trustees of the community’s legacy and traditions. We are grateful to the many people who voiced support for our poinsettia tree. They are our neighbors in this community and they need to know that we listen and respond, whether it is a holiday tradition or the larger issues involving Town Center’s future.”

The Mall In Columbia continuously shows its commitment to the community. Recently, it opened Healthy Howard’s Soft Play Area in the JCPenney Court. Young families shared with GGP their desire for an area in the mall that would be suitable and safe for their young children. The center also introduced “Santastic,” an interactive holiday experience for families young and old. This interactive Santa display has been embraced by the community and will join the poinsettia tree as an annual holiday tradition at the center.

Geary Doesn't Get It

Dan Beyers first blogged about this in Columbia Talk today but I felt I had to chime in too. After all I was quoted in the column. Marc Fisher, Metro columnist for the Washington Post, wrote a nice column about the malls decision to discontinue the poinsettia tree this year after a thirty six year run.

Karen Geary, the general manager of the mall was quoted as saying ""The Poinsettia Tree doesn't define the community the people define the community."

Hey Karen, we really don't need a mall manager to tell us what defines community. That is not what the poinsettia tree was about anyway. It was simply something of beauty that was different from any other holiday decoration anywhere. It made our mall special. GGP should appreciate that more than anything. Yes, the mall is a temple of commerce but what harm does it do to set aside one area for something that simply makes folks feel good about coming there?

I think this is potentially a public relations nightmare for GGP.

Scene This Week In...

The Lakeside coffee shop is a cool place. I have to admit that I take some personal pride in this place. I was the guy who convinced Mike Lentz, the original operator, to go there. I also had to convince Columbia Management that it was a good idea. The Columbia Management folks were a little gun shy about that corner because all of their Rouse masters walked by it all the time. Anyway, what was originally Riverside became more appropriately named Lakeside. Mike is now somewhere along the coast of North Carolina running a raw bar…at least that’s what I heard.

But I digress. This past week I spotted fellow blogger Bill Santos and his wife Ann sitting by the fake fireplace with laptops in their laps. Jud Malone quipped that they were emailing each other.

And while I am on bloggers, apparently we have a new western Howard County blog, appropriately named, Western Howard Blog. Welcome, post often.

When I was a kid growing up in Catonsville one of the highlights of the Christmas season was going up to firehouse on Frederick Road and seeing the train display. That tradition is alive and well in Ellicott City at the Ellicott City Fire Company #2. They have a 24 X 10 train garden display that includes interactive buttons for the kids (and their dads). It’s free too though donations are always appreciated. The station is located at 4150 Montgomery Road (think Long Gate Shopping Center). The display will be up until January 6th. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays (11 AM to 8:30 PM), and Wednesday through Friday from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Call (410) 313-2036 for additional info.

Change of Command

The Sun reported this morning that Doug Godine has been replaced. Doug has been the general manager of Columbia for GGP since last year when he replaced Dennis Miller. The new general manager is Gregory Hamm. Gregory has been working as consultant to GGP for over a year now with an office in Columbia.

And no story about GGP and Columbia would not be complete without the obligatory quote from Alan Klein,” I think a change in leadership behavior was needed; whether a change in leader was needed I don’t know.”

In my opinion, Alan Klein is not exactly a leading authority on leadership but the papers love to quote him anyway.

Doug Godine is a true gentlemen and I wish him well in his future endeavors.

The Ultimate Decider

The Plaza tower saga rated a front page story in today’s Washington Post business section. It appears that the ultimate decision as to whether the tower will be built rests with the ability of WCI Communities to secure financing. A year ago that would not have been a problem for the Florida developer but back then its stock was trading at around $35.00 per share. Today it trades for $4.84. It may be mid January before the fate of this project is decided.

Poinsettia Protestors

The poinsettia tree protest was held today. My daughter and I attended, dutifully carrying our poinsettia plants to show our fealty to the cause. The cause of which I write is the hope that a mass protest might compel GGP to reinstate this cherished Columbia holiday tradition and get the freaking cars out of the fountain at the same time.Judging from today’s crowds, that is not likely to happen. I’d give it a 10% chance that we will ever see the poinsettia tree grace the center court fountain area of the mall again.

That is no reason to call today’s protest a failure. On the contrary, it was a grand success but for a different reason. It was a success at bringing community together. Old friends met and hugged. Pictures were taken and laughter was evident amongst the din of conversations.

The holidays provided a perfect backdrop for the gathering. It added a festive air.

It was not just the loss of the poinsettia tree that was lamented either. It was the vehicles dumped in the fountain and the car dealer banner that surrounds the fountain court that bothered people. It has just become too much.

The poinsettia protesters also noted that the fountain court seemed to contain more poinsettias than it did at the beginning of the holiday season. This turns out to be correct. I took this picture the day before Thanksgiving. All of the mall holiday décor was in place including the Santastic experience.

There are many more in fountain area today and not just because of those that the poinsettia protestors bought by.

If nothing else, the poinsettia protestors can take credit for having affected that change. Every little bit helps. In fact, maybe an annual “poinsettia drop” could be become a new tradition.

Poinsettia Protest

My friend Jim Binckley bought my attention to a column by Diane Brown in this weeks Columbia Flier. It seems that an ad hoc group of Columbians is planning a little protest this Sunday.

Claire Lea, Sandi Carbotti and Janet Shinski are planning on converging on the center court fountain at noon this Sunday with a poinsettia in hand "to make a statement."

"The loss of the tree is the loss of tradition," says Claire. "Our tradition seems to have been arbitrarily demoted. It's just gone. And I believe there are thousands of us who remember and who want it back. It's just so sad."

Thousands?

Perhaps. It will be interesting to see how many people show. I'll be there, with a poinsettia in one hand and a camera in the other.

Karen Geary, the mall manager, tried to justify the poinsettia trees demise with this letter to editor. I don't know about you but to me the letter rang a little hollow and a little preachy.

In This Month’s Business Monthly…

I’m going to try something new here. As you may or may not know, I also write a column in the Business Monthly. In fact, I have been writing a column in the Business Monthly as long as the Business Monthly has been around.

I’ve been through three owners but I like the new ones the best. I figure it can’t hurt to suck up to them once in awhile anyway. The Business Monthly has been my only steady writing job. I figure that the fact that I get a 1099 every year for writing validates me a professional writer. Thankfully I also have another job.

Anyway, since I also have this here blog, I thought it might be fun, once a month, to open up this blog to comments about my latest column. I’ll gladly take the good, the bad, the ugly and the anonymous.

Or not. Your call.

This month’s column is entitled “The Ghost of Christmas Past.” You can find it here.

Scene This Week In...

In a word, snow. The first of the season, a good one too. My nine year old daughter and I both agreed that this morning it was magical.

For the Ellicott City scene I choose The Good Life Market in Ellicott City. These guys really did a nice job with the holiday décor. They even play holiday music outside. This was picture postcard perfect for a snowy day before Christmas.

In Columbia there is an old stretch of Oakland Mills Road that winds through Thunder Hill and the Smith Farm. It is an amazing trip in time to how Columbia looked before it was Columbia. The fact that it runs right in the middle of Columbia makes it even cooler. It is a very pretty drive on a snowy day.

Private Meetings Part Two

Last night I attended a political fund raiser for County Councilperson Greg Fox. It was extremely well attended given the fact that it was a) Sunday night and b) rainy cold and miserable.

I heard from several different people at the event that GGP has already met with most of the council members privately to share their vision for Columbia's town center. I hope that is true. I also hope that, if it is true, it will stop this silly posturing by the Columbia Council and the village boards over open meetings.

Again, I have no objection to public meetings. They play an important role in formulating public policy. Similarly, private meetings play an important role as well as they don't allow for posturing for the press and tend to focus more intensely on the subject matter.

The 2008 Columbia Festival of the Arts

The 2008 Columbia Festival of the Arts will be held June 13th through June 28th. Mark your calendars so you can be sure to be in town for the 21st annual festival. If you go to website you can see a sampling of last years paid performances. Right now the festival staff is booking entertainment for for the paid events at the Rouse Theatre and the free events at Lakefest...which brings me to the point of this post.

The festival needs money!

The success of the Columbia Festival of the Arts is largely dependent on the amount of money they are able raise during these cold months. Right now that fundraising is going on in earnest as most good acts need to be booked by the end of January.

If you are thinking about making any charitable contributions before the year end for tax purposes, please consider the arts. All donations are fully tax deductible. You can send a check directly to the festival offices at the Columbia Festival of the Arts, 5575 Sterrett Place, Suite 280, Columbia, MD 21044.

I'm trying to get them to accept Pay Pal but right now you'll need to contribute in the old fashioned way.

Profit Motives

If you haven't already done so, please visit the Hometown Columbia blog and read Jessie's post entitled "Jim Rouse as *ALL* about the money."

Jessie nails it perfectly and I have to say that I couldn't have said it better myself!

Wildlife in EC

A coyote has apparrently been spotted in the vicinity of the historic district. And you thought the wildlife was only in the bars!

Store Window Contest

This Saturday the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation is sponsoring a holiday store window decorating contest for the merchants in the old town. Shoppers will be able to vote for their favorite window by picking up a ballot in one of the participating stores or at the Howard County Tourism office located on the lower level of the old Ellicott City Post Office on Main Street.

It's a fun activity for the family and a great way to explore Ellicott City.

Scene This Week In...

Is it just me or does anyone else find the display of the poinsettia tree skeleton tragic?

The once elegant fixture of the Columbia holiday scene now sits stripped of its red flowers in a Merriweather Post Pavilion parking lot. I’m sorry but it comes off to me as a cheap sideshow in the already borderline tacky Symphony of Lights.

It is worse of course during the day when the colored lights that it has been festooned with have no effect. Fortunately the general public can’t see it as the exhibit is closed during the daytime. The poinsettia tree I knew and loved was beautiful day in and night without any artificial lighting.

And viewing it was free, now it will cost you twenty bucks a car just to see it in this sadly diminished form.

Thus I have dubbed it “The Ghost of Christmas Past.” You can read more about it in my column the December issue of the Business Monthly. I’ll post the link here under “The Way I See It” after the paper hits the streets next week.

On a lighter note, this fire hydrant in Ellicott City cracked me up. Those are pieces of chewing gum plastered around it. This particular fireplug sits on the corner of Winding Ross Way and Edgehill Court in Taylor Village in Ellicott City. It happens to be on the main walking route to the bus stop for a large number of elementary and middle school kids.

A true work of people’s art.

Is That What You Think?

The Columbia Association Board of Directors has placed full page advertisements in several local publications featuring this letter to County Executive Ken Ulman outlining their position on any redevelopment of Town Center.

For the most part the document is fairly innocuous, restating themes that all parties generally agree upon, such as respect the land; create a livable community, more restaurants and businesses and so on.

What struck me was the misleading statement about open space. The letter calls for preserving the “open space” around the Hug statue. That land is not open space. It is private property. CA has plenty of open space under its exclusive control in Town Center. From the looks of things they do a pretty lousy job of maintaining it too.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the CA board instead spent the same amount of energy looking at how their own organization might adapt to a new downtown.

Scene This Week In...

The big man himself is the subject of this weeks scenes. Thanksgiving is the official kick off of the holiday season. From now until December 25th it will be difficult to keep the kids focused on anything but the big guy in the red suit.

In Ellicott City, Frank DiPietro must surely be one of Santa’s elves. Along with Ed Williams they own Mumbles & Squeaks Toy Shoppe on Main Street. If you want something different from a Toys R Us experience, you will find it in their store. I love this place.

In Columbia you get the real thing. At least you get a guy who looks like the real thing. This authentic looking Santa is all wrapped up in the Santastic experience brought to you by Creig Northrop, Comcast, Build A Bear and other sponsors with ads prominently displayed.

I usually update my Scenes This Week on Wednesdays but tomorrow my daughter and I will be amongst the millions of people schlepping through an airport on our way to a Thanksgiving reunion. Our destination is Birmingham Alabama and the home of my sister Pat. There is a true Columbia connection here as well. Pat worked in Columbia back in the early years (67-69) as an aide to Gary Clark, Zeeger DeWilde and Art Caplan. If you recognize any of those names you more than qualify as a Columbia old timer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Santastic In Poinsettia Tree Out

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With all of the hoopla surrounding the new “Santastic” attraction at The Mall In Columbia you may not have noticed that something is conspicuously missing this year, the poinsettia tree. The 22 foot poinsettia tree graced the center court fountain of the mall every year since the mall opened in 1971. My favorite columnist wrote this about it five years ago.

After a thirty six year run, the poinsettia tree has now been replaced by trucks parked in the fountain. I for one, lament this loss of a Columbia holiday tradition.

Town Center Website

Thanks to fellow blogger Bill Santos at Columbia Compass for giving us the heads up on this. As expected, GGP has launched a website dedicated to Columbia Town Center redevelopment. There isn't much there right now but expect to see more in the coming months. Most importantly, they have a section soliciting input and recommendations from the community at large, so let your voice be heard. I have added a link in the Links of Interest section of this blog.

If you want to see photos of the vision that they are sharing in community meetings you can check here, here and here.

Adam The First!

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As part of my in depth reporting on “Columbicott City, I stopped by the sales trailer for Bozzuto Homes at Shipley’s Grant. Adjacent to the entry road off Waterloo is this historical marker. I figure that most people zip by this sign without stopping to read it. There really is no place to easily pull over for that matter.

But it is an interesting marker. You hear a good deal about the Carrolls and Calverts around here but not so much about the Shipley’s. Sounds like they had a pretty nice spread back in 1687.

Today of course, the landscape is a bit different. This is the development model that sits in the sales trailer. Note that Route 100 and the overhead power lines are conspicuously absent. You have to step outside the trailer to see those features.

Private Meetings

General Growth is holding a series of private meetings with a wide range of community groups to discuss it’s vision for the future of Town Center in Columbia. I happen to think that this is a wise approach. It gives the company a chance to respond directly and appropriately to individual concerns.

I have attended one of these briefings. It was informative and there was healthy dialogue between the developer and the invitees. That is what is required to refine a vision and build it into a plan.

That is what GGP says it wants to do. They emphasized time and time again during the presentation that what they are discussing in these meetings is a vision, not a final plan. That, they insist, will come after absorbing the feedback from the various community stakeholders.

Some folks don’t like this though. In today’s Sun, June Arney reported on these meetings and the reactions of some of these folks. Alex Hekimian is challenging whether any village board members or Columbia Council members can legally attend these meetings since they are not open to the public and the press.

Hogwash.

These are GGP’s meetings. They can dam well invite whoever they want. They are not presenting a final plan, they are looking for feedback. Have you ever noticed what happens when a meeting is open to everyone and the press, especially when the topic is a hot one like Town Center?

The big mouths and politicians dominate the dialogue as they vie for being quoted by the press. That’s why some of the politicians don’t like them. They can’t grandstand.

I hope my elected representatives attend one of these meetings. That's what they are supposed to do. Go. Listen. Learn. Form an opinion. Report back.

Then they can grandstand and pontificate all they want.

Scene This Week In...

It was a picture postcard fall day today, a little foggy and damp. The trees were just past their color peak. It reminded me once again of just how beautiful Howard County is.

The Ellicott City scene is the view on New Cut Road leading out of the historic district towards Montgomery Road. This road gets my vote for one of the prettiest roads in HoCo land.

The Columbia scene is the view of Little Patuxent Parkway from the pedestrian bridge looking back towards the Central library. You can see the corner of one of the blue Columbia 40th birthday banners by the entrance to the GGP building.

Isn’t it time to take those down?

Columbicott City

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I missed this story in the Sun last week about the “limited income” apartments planned for Ellicott City.

I was wondering if “limited income” has become the new euphemism for affordable housing.

Anyway…

The 106 unit project being called The Residences at Ellicott Gardens is planned for a site at the intersection of Route 108 and Route 104. While this is technically Ellicott City, it still feels like Columbia because it is on the south side of Route 100. Then again maybe we should call this Waterloo Road Route 100 corridor area Columbicott City.

It is probably politically safe to put affordable housing in Columbicott City because it is sort of neither here nor there.

Also underway in Columbicott City is the Shipley’s Grant development, a 306 unit townhouse development that is about a quarter mile from the Ellicott Gardens project. Shipley’s Grant will be for people who are “limited” to purchasing a townhome in the $450,000 to $600,000 price range. That seems pretty pricey for a community that is bordered by high power transmission lines to the west, Route 100 to the north and Snowden River Parkway to the east.

They seem to selling well enough though.

Shipley’s Grant will also have a “village” retail center that will front Waterloo Road. So far Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery have committed to leases in this new center on Main Street (Waterloo Road) in Columbicott City.

New Columbia Blogger

I discovered another Columbia blogger today. He left a comment on my The Big Picture post and I looked him up. Brian Dunn is a native Columbian and he started People Tree Films back in September. If you want to hear another generational voice (you will have to ask Jessie if he is a millennial or an Xer) on the future of Columbia you should check out his blog. I have added his blog to my blog links on the right.

Welcome People Tree Films. I'll tell Jessie to add you to the blogtail hour list.

Other Voices

The current issue of The Business Monthly is on the street. In the letters section there is a great letter from Caroline Sherman, a longtime Clary's Forest resident and local businesswoman. I generally agree with her views outlined in this letter.

Another letter in the Letters to the Editor section is from Mike Davis. Mike is also a longtime Columbia resident and practicing attorney who currently resides in Bryant Woods. Mike lays out the economic benefits of the Plaza tower condominiums. I don't believe enough enough has been written or said about the salient points he raises.

Of course the November The Business Monthly also features my favorite columnist.

The Big Picture

While Mama Wordbones is off having her whipped cocoa bath this morning at the Chocolate spa, I have a moment to share this final photo from the GGP presentation at Oakland this past Tuesday. This photo captures the “vision” in its entirety. Another key feature of this “vision” is a series of “commons” that create important connections. One common would link the Mall to the lakefront. Another would link the Symphony North area to the Mall and Symphony Woods. A third would extend Sterrett Place down through the woods to the lakefront. I believe a fourth one would create a promenade from LL Bean up through to Twin Rivers Road.

I caution that I may not have these exactly accurate. There was a lot of information imparted over a short period of time and I didn’t take notes. The best advice I can give is to attend one of the GGP sessions that are going to be held around town and see for yourself. I believe GGP is also planning an interactive website for this “vision”. As soon as I find out what the URL is I’ll link to it under the Links of Interest.

Now I have to go see how Mama Wordbones is doing.

More From The GGP Town Center Presentation.

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Yesterday at the GGP presentation on Town Center development I asked Doug Godine if I could take a few pictures of the schematic vision. He said go ahead so here’s another shot. This is the “vision” for the Crescent neighborhood. This would be primarily residences wrapping around Symphony Woods with office buildings lining the outside perimeter.

I’ll post another shot in the next day or so. Right now I’m ensconced at the Hotel Hershey with Mama Wordbones, a fruit and cheese plate and a bottle of red wine (its good for the heart ya know). More news later…

Coming Soon To A Meeting Near You

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This morning I attended a preview of General Growth Properties much anticipated vision for Columbia’s Town Center. Doug Godine, the General Manager of Columbia for GGP, took great pains to emphasize that this was not the final plan but a working plan that will evolve with input from all the stakeholders; the citizens of Columbia, Howard County Government, Columbia Association and even the State Highway Administration.

One of the key elements of GGP’s vision are two greenways that would eventually connect all the disparate parts of Town Center. Think of it as kind of a super pathway system designed to handle a high volume of pedestrian traffic. The inner ring would consist of a loop around the core of the Town Center. This greenway would be approximately 1.5 miles long. The outer ring would loop around the perimeter of the Town Center area and would be a little over three miles long.

GGP envisions four distinct neighborhoods. They are being identified as Warfield, Symphony North, The Crescent and the Lakefront. Each features a mix of uses but the bulk of the new office space would be in the Crescent while Warfield would be heavier on retail. All four areas would contain housing and all housing would be either condominiums or apartments. No town homes or single family homes are included in this preliminary vision.

A fellow blogger also attended and offered a very interesting suggestion on how to uniquely orient a new pedestrian promenade from the mall to the lakefront. I'll leave it to him to report on that. It was a real audience pleaser.

I really don’t want to steal anymore of GGP’s thunder here. Suffice it to say that I was impressed by the depth and breadth of this “vision”. GGP and it’s planners have developed a very enticing framework for the remaking of Town Center. If you are interested in Columbia you owe it to yourself to attend one of these information sessions that GGP will hosting around town in the coming months.

If you have followed the controversy over the Plaza and the rhetoric of groups like CoFoDoCo, you have heard what armchair planners think should be done. Now it is time to see what the professionals think should be done.

Scene This Week In...

I’ve kind of got this thing going on for clerks in Columbia. You may recall that last week it was Jo and Sheila at Orinico coffee shop. This week it’s Greg and Jessica at Trader Joe’s. I count myself among those who looked forward to the arrival of TJ’s. I for one think our fair town can support two of them. How about a TJ’s at Wilde Lake Village Green?

Anyway, Greg and Jessica were gracious enough to ham it up for my picture and so they now occupy this weeks Scene in Columbia.

As for my Ellicott City scene, most everyone I know refers to this guy as the Bubble Man. He holds court every weekend on the sidewalk in front of the Forget Me Not Factory on Main Street in downtown Ellicott City. On this particular day though he wasn’t waving any bubble wands. He was just greeting and talking to folks looking very Gandalf like and leaning on a thick wooden staff.

Build It And They Will Come...Hopefully

There was a commercial broker reception for the completion of 7021 Columbia Gateway Drive this afternoon. 7021 Columbia Gateway is a 104,000 square foot five story office building in the Columbia Gateway Corporate Community. This is a speculative office project developed by Orix Real Estate Equities in Chicago.

The leasing efforts for this building began in earnest the day the ground was broken in August of 2006. While it is not unusual for a building of this size to not have any leases signed at the time it is completed, it is far from comforting for the developer. Of particular concern is the fact that two more speculative office projects are now underway within sight of this building.

6811 Benjamin Franklin Drive is a 56,000 square foot two story building being developed by Columbia based Abrams Development Group. It is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. Just behind 6811 Benjamin Franklin is 6821 Benjamin Franklin which is also called Franklin Center. Franklin Center is a 200,000 square foot seven story office building being developed by The Trammel Crow Company out of Washington, DC. That works out to 360,000 square feet of new space with no tenants, so far. Of the three buildings, only Franklin Center is going for LEED Silver certification.

It is safe to assume that all three buildings are hoping to capitalize on the demand for space associated with BRAC at Fort Meade. It is too early to tell whether that demand will spread to Columbia Gateway, although there are several DOD contractors already located there.

As far as 7021 Columbia Gateway is concerned, the clock is certainly ticking.

TJ's Has Come To Town...Finally

Trader Joe's opened this past Friday in the Gateway Overlook Shopping Center. I have been a fan of this store since I first discovered one in Monterey California back in 1996. When I used to describe the store to my East Coast friends I called it a poor mans Sutton Place Gourmet. Of course that was back when Sutton Place Gourmet defined the specialty grocery market. Today that is a crowded category and SPG is now part of the Balduccis chain.

But I digress...

A couple of observations from their first weekend: 1) The place was packed but somehow the lines at the cashiers moved pretty fast. The cashiers actually seemed to like their jobs too, despite being jammed. 2) I noticed on my receipt that the store lists their address as Elkridge, even though they are on CPRA assessed land.

Trader Joe's is a fun place with a unique selection of foods and a certain energy that you don't find in your average chain store. The new store in Gateway Overlook does not have a liquor license though so you won't find "Two Buck Chuck" wines there.

General Blog Note

This is a kind of Saturday blog chore thing, you know, fixing things...cleaning things up and whatnot. From now on, Tales of Two Cities can now be accessed simply by using http://www.wordbones.com/.

The Plaza Tower Saga Continues

This mornings Sun paper contained two stories about the continuing saga of the Plaza condominium tower in Town Center. The first story reported that Councilperson Sigaty's proposed legislation Council Bill 63 and 64 will die after being tabled in the last council session. Apparrently Ms Sigaty counted noses and found she came up short of a majority needed to pass the bills. This speaks well for the wisdom of the other council members. Ms Sigaty's bills were simply an act of ill conceived political pandering to a vocal minority. The planning board saw this when they unanimously voted not to recommend this legislation. You can read their conclusions here and here and here to see for yourself.

The other story concerned the public hearings on the county's master plan for Town Center. While there is not much new news here it is still gratifying to see that the debate isn't being dominated by CoFoDoCo attempting to "speak for the people of Columbia."

I did not make it to last nights CA board of directors public hearing about downtown redevelopment. I got a hung up in the bar downstairs catching up with old friends after our little "blogtail hour." If anyone who did attend would like to share their observations, please do.

Stand Up And Be Counted

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Tonight the Columbia Association Board of Directors will hear testimony about the pro and cons of the Town Center development plans that Bring Back the Vision has supported. The Bring Back the Vision folks are hoping to get some younger residents to come and be recognized. They define young as anyone under 50 (ya gotta love that!).

That makes sense. The Town Center development will have it's greatest impact on those folks and therefore their input bears more weight, or it should anyway.

If you think your voice has not been heard so far in this debate over Columbia's future, please try and attend this evening. You don't have to testify. You can simply stand and be recognized when they ask for a show of support. The meeting will be held at 7:30 PM in the CA board room in the Columbia Association Building (Teachers Building) in Town Center.

Scene This Week In...

I dropped by the Orinoco coffee shop last week. I needed to check my email and I didn't want to run all the back to my office by the airport. I have resisted the temptation to get a Blackberry or a Treo. I find I can get along quite well with my laptop as long as I can find a good wireless hot spot. The Orinoco coffee shop on McGaw Road has become one of my favorites. The coffee is excellent as well, even though I have now been reduced to ordering the decaffeinated brew. It's that heart disease thing.

Anyway, after ordering my coffee I was given a gift bag of sample Orinico coffees. This is their way of celebrating their first year in business. That earned them my Scene in Columbia picture this week. Besides a picture of the very cute Orinico coffee ladies, Jo and Sheila, is a vast improvement over last weeks picture of the Costco gas station. The proprietor of this fine establishment is Juan Carlos (JC). He also makes the best Cuban sandwich in town. Congratulations Orinico!

For the Ellicott City Scene I dropped by the Patapsco Female Institute on Sarah's Lane in Ellicott City. A friend of mine told me that his daughter held her wedding there recently. I was surprised and intrigued so I thought I'd go up there for a look. It is really quite a lovely place and well worth a visit, particularly on a beautiful fall day.

Insiders Guide

I'm not sure how I missed this but this evening, as I was carving a pumpkin in the kitchen, my daughter pointed to a picture in the newspaper I was using to keep the pumpkin mess off the counter. (Mama Wordbones is kind of picky about that sort of thing.)

Anyway, Morgan points to a picture and says "There's the star store." That got my attention.

Lo and behold, she had pointed out a picture of Shoemakers Country store that accompanied a piece in the Sun called an Insiders Guide to Historic Ellicott City!

I'd certainly rather see that kind of story about Howard County rather than this one or this one.

Burying The Hatchet

Larry Carson reports in the Sun today that Ken Ulman has nominated his former political rival, Chris Merdon to head up the “new revenue authority.” The first major undertaking for the authority will be the construction of a much needed parking facility to serve the historic district of Ellicott City.

This speaks well for both men. It is not that often that we see this type of post election collaboration after what can be conservatively described as a nasty campaign. Nicely done!