Long Reach Dreams

It looks like something artsy is happening in Long Reach. Of course the Columbia Art Center has long been in residence there, so it makes sense that other arts endeavors are joining it. Recently I’ve  seen several announcements that sound like a new Long Reach Village Center is taking shape:

• African Art Museum of Maryland relocating to LRVC
• Howard County Arts Council offering studio space for artists 
• ManneqART to create new location 

Call me crazy, but all of these announcements made me wonder if the Safeway space could be renovated and transformed into a perfect Toby’s location. Yes, I know, there’s some other plan for that which is more Downtown-centric, but this is my blog and I can pretend all I want. I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the plans in place. I simply like to dream.

“What if’s” are fun. What if Toby’s could be reborn in Long Reach? There’s plenty of parking. They are already a successful, well-known brand in the region and people would definitely come there. And that would mean a lot more people with expendable income visiting Long Reach. And that might mean that other businesses would begin to find Long Reach more worthy of investment.

I’m not a city planner. But I can dream, can’t I? After all, I’ve always wanted to see creative re-use of the Columbia Flier/Patuxent Publishing Building, and this past year we’ve seen glimmers of that. So, who knows?

At any rate, I’m excited at what’s happening in Long Reach. I remember attending the event to re-imagine Long Reach that invited community members to give input for the future of the center. Even then, a desire for more arts space was apparent.

I’m looking forward to a vibrant future for the Village Center and the Long Reach community.