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Good News from NextDoor


 

Today is a day I truly didn’t expect to happen. I learned something useful on NextDoor.

New park in 2025

WBAL News had a feature today on a new play ground, baseball fields, and basketball courts coming to the area next to East Columbia Library. Work starts spring 2024 and planned to take 1 year.

So of course I Googled it. And, here it is!

Howard County Announces Purchase of 16.5-Acre East Columbia Library Park Property, 10/30/2023

If you have ever been to the East Columbia Branch Library, you have seen the grassy fields at the back of the parking lot. And, if you haven’t visited the East Columbia Branch, what are you waiting for? It’s a very cool library branch, in my (somewhat biased) opinion.

At any rate, I’ve never thought much about those fields until now. From Google Maps, here’s the Library and its parking lot.




.

Now see how the library property is actually surrounded by playing fields. That’s East Columbia Library Park. 


I didn’t really understand the layout until I saw it on the map. In addition, my family not being a sporty one, I’ve never driven a kid to sports practice at this (or any) location.

So this is the land that the County has purchased.

The purchase of this property from the Howard Hughes Holdings, Inc. allows the County to move forward with plans to enhance and expand the existing park. Those plans include redeveloping the three existing multipurpose fields into two lighted artificial turf baseball fields, two lighted basketball courts, a playground and a pavilion. 

Additionally, the pathway will be renovated to fully connect to the Owen Brown Village Center. Finally, the project also includes landscaping work and the completion of stormwater management bio-retention facilities. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2024 and be completed the following year, weather permitting.

I’m a little confused as to why Howard Hughes owned this particular parcel but I am hoping that one of my well-informed readers will explain thus to me. Why wasn’t it a part of CA Open Space? Why has the county been maintaining it since 1992? Yes, I could just reach out to the media contacts listed in the press release but I am hoping for some lively audience participation.

The East Columbia Branch is a true community hub in the Village of Owen Brown. They’ve long hosted after-school programs for young people from the nearby schools. The Library sponsors a small Farmers Market each year. The parking lot has been the site of any number of family-friendly festivals. A new 50+ Center is going up adjacent to the Library to replace the small facilities they have occupied onsite. 

The County’s purchase of the parkland with the commitment to both care for and improve the site is, in my opinion, a great idea. Let’s face it: any decision that adds a playground is always a good idea to me. What I like most is how it connects all these adjacent entities more fully. A trip to the library could be connected to a playground visit. With the pathway renovated to connect to the Owen Brown Village Center, I foresee folks picking up components for a picnic lunch and heading to the park, or strolling over on the pathway to grab pizza after a game.

Connections. I like them.

To learn more about the announcement you can read the County’s press release.  To see firsthand what AI does with a press release, take a gander at this piece from a site called Newsbreak. Not terrible but it just feels wrong.

I’m excited about the County’s investment in Owen Brown, not just for that one village, but also because it enhances connections that will benefit anyone who visits. 

What did the people on NextDoor think of this announcement? So far, one is worried about parking and one is worried about trash.

What do you think?


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