Before our update, we’re recommending some TV viewing to you. A few months ago the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a program by an author named Richard Florida, who presented some very compelling theories on the future of American cities. Specifically, he discussed what sectors of our economy will dominate the workforce over the next generations, how those people will choose where to work and live and how those trends will influence where businesses locate. We walked away even more convinced of the infinite economic opportunities that the new downtown will create for Howard County.

The presentation will be shown on GTV (Comcast 99, Verizon 44, not on DirecTV) as follows. Again, we encourage you to check it out, because it will help you understand why this downtown plan isn’t just about more restaurants and shops, but how it’s critical to the next generations of Howard Co.

• TONIGHT, June 15, 1:00pm
• Wednesday, June 17, 9:00am and 8:00pm
• Thursday, June 18, 11:00pm

As for the plan approval, the Planning Board must not share our urgency. We hear that a couple members of the Planning Board are still opposing the same old issues – residential density and Symphony Woods – which is why the plan/recommendations still haven’t been sent to the County Council for approval. We are concerned about this because time is of the essence. While we muddle through our fourth year of “discussion” other communities right in our back yard are in the ground creating places where people and businesses want to move. If we don’t see any movement in the next couple of weeks, we’ll be calling on all of you to helps us send a message to the Planning Board.

There’s a great feature in this week’s Christian Science Monitor that touts the success of the redevelopment of a dying mall in Lakewood, Colorado.

They took a more radical approach and tore the whole thing down. Luckily for us, we have the ability to incorporate the mall into a more complete vision of downtown.

The article points out some of the cultural amenities that are thriving in Lakewood:

Much of the activity seemed to be centered on “Block 7,” a strip of art galleries and storefronts subsidized by Continuum. Jeffrey Steffonich, a college student working at a studio, said, “There’s been a lot of interest [in Belmar] among young people … interest in the culture … the galleries. People see it as a cool place to live.”

Now, we all know that Columbia has always had a thriving arts scene. But imagine being able to stroll down the streets of downtown, pop into an art gallery or even hear a band at a new venue. We need more cultural amenities to make Columbia an attractive place for people of all ages.

Last week, we had some technical difficulties, but we’re back online and almost ready to announce our next project. It’s going to be big. And fun. Stay tuned…..

Word is that County Exec. Ulman sent a letter up to Chicago yesterday asking them to keep Town Center together.  This is exactly the kind of leadership we need.  Instead of using the bankruptcy as an excuse to put our heads in the sand and delay, we adapt to the changing conditions and stay focused on the goal.

General Growth Properties announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, voluntarily seeking relief to reduce and restructure its debts. From all accounts all that this means is that GGP is taking the legal opportunity to restructure its loans, reduce corporate debt and establish a long-term capital structure – business as usual will continue and day-to-day operations will not be interrupted.

But, as mentioned in today’s Baltimore Sun article “[Gregg] Hamm said Columbia and other master plan General Growth communities were not included in the filing, except one in Nevada.” The Chapter 11 filing does not include Columbia.

So, that means that the redevelopment plans for Columbia are still on the table…let’s continue to look forward to work together to make it happen!

Other local companies have filed for Chapter 11 and are still functioning every day – companies like the Baltimore Sun and WR Grace. General Growth is not going anywhere and the company is still dedicated to the redevelopment of Columbia.

An ethics complaint has been flied against Del. Liz Bobo, an adamant critic of the downtown redevelopment plan, for using her state email to influence CA elections. So why do we care? CA has a strong voice with County officials and, as we have suspected for years, much of the CA leadership is in the tank for Bobo. Is CA’s opposition to the plan based on the best interests of its homeowners or is it merely the will of Bobo and her cronies. And why is killing the plan so important to het that she’s willing to risk her political career? Below are links to the complaint and public information request.

Remember last Thursday? It was a beautiful day, with temperatures in the mid 50’s. We figured there would be plenty of people out during lunch, so we went to the lakefront to interview people for our next video. Except for a few high school kids skateboarding (it was a half day for them), nobody was there!

This is a light-hearted video, but it makes an important point. Last Thursday was just another day in the life of a dying suburb.

We just got this very important message from our friends over at Bring Back The Vision:

The Planning Board will hold one more public hearing on ZRA113 Thursday, March 5 at 6:00pm in the “for now” county office bulding, Tyson’s II Room, 8930 Stanford Blvd. If you can do it, come and lend your support – We NEED you!

Directions: Route 175 to Dobbin Road. Pass Dobbin Center on left, turn left after Center as though you were headed for Riverside Coffee but don’t turn right into that shoping center, stay straight to large office building on left. See you there and thanks!

We’re coming down the home stretch here folks. This is our last opportunity to testify to the Planning Board that we support the world class plan set forth by GGP for downtown Columbia. The small but vocal opposition will be out in full force, so we need to get as many supporters there as possible. Please try to make it.

Also, watch out for our next video, which should drop tomorrow or Wednesday.

We did it. The Planning Board accepted the video testimony on DVD and some members of the Board stated that they’ve watched the testimony online. Hopefully it will help them see the faces and hear the words of folks who haven’t been able to attend the hearings.

Lots of people testified, including me and Kevin Link of Columbia 2.0. Others from our group are scheduled to testify at the next hearing, which will likely be the last before the Planning Board makes its recommendation to the County Council/Zoning Board. That’s scheduled for Thursday March 5 at 7:00. WE STILL WANT PEOPLE FROM OUR GROUP TO TESTIFY IN PERSON, SO LET US KNOW IF YOU’RE READY TO STEP IT UP LIKE KEVIN DID LAST WEEK! Unfortunately, I’ll be watching the Bushy Park Elementary performance of Annie, Jr. that night!

If you haven’t seen the video testimony OR the videos explaining the plan, they are all still posted below!