Wilde Lake's Village

Kimco's plan is out. What say CA, the Interfaith Center and the Howard County school system? Aren't they key partners in whatever happens?

Will there be a village in the new town center?

Sounds like a mission for a community planner, and lo and behold CA apparently has hired one, a professional planner by the name of Jane Dembner, according to this story in the Flier.

As the first village to have its shopping center slated for a major overhaul, Wilde Lake leaders were quick to welcome Dembner’s attention.

“As soon as she came on board we asked her to come out and listen,” Wilde Lake village manager Bernice Kish said.

Although parts of the redevelopment process at the Wilde Lake center, owned by Kimco Realty Corp., already are underway, village board members have expressed a desire to craft a more widespread master plan for the entire community, addressing traffic and roadways, connections within the area and other factors, Kish said.

“She’s going to be invaluable to us when we look at doing that kind of encompassing plan,” Kish said of Dembner. “It will be a true master plan for the entire area, not just the village center.”

One thing that’s clear to Dembner about Columbia is the “great pride” she sees residents take in their community.

“I do think it’s special here. We all have a stake in it. I know this as a resident.”