Although the Kimco plan for Wilde Lake Village Center has faults, we want to see the project move forward for the future of Wilde Lake Village. However we strongly oppose demolition of the central building of the horseshoe shaped building that encloses the Village Green Courtyard. We urge the Planning Board to have the courage to do the right thing and save the central building from demolition.

Kimco has proposed demolition for only one reason, to be able to see the Courtyard stores from the parking lot to lease stores. Yet fully leased stores in Kimco's three Village Centers, Hickory Ridge, Kings Contrivance and Dorsey's Search over one half of the stores cannot be seen from parking. Kimco's reason for demolition to make stores visible from parking is therefore unnecessary given their success in leasing stores that cannot be seen from parking.

Jim Rouse is honored and beloved as Columbia's founder, yet one third of the original Wilde Lake Village Green's building, in Columbia's first Village Center, is about to be demolished by Kimco. Jim Rouse was deeply involved in the design of the Village Green building. He reviewed and approved the building design, brick color, use of expensive red roof tile, and courtyard landscaping and monitored the first tenant mix. Demolition is not the way to honor Jim Rouse.

The July 19, 2010 the Wilde Lake Village Board's own county-required Village Community Plan clearly states in two places that the "… the Village Green Shopping Center buildings and Village Green open space "shall be upgraded" (meaning not demolished). The Village Board reinforced this statement in writing on October 18, 2010, which states that, "The Board supports maintaining the north and south buildings as depicted in the (Kimco) plan. The Board supports upgrading the building west of the courtyard". (The central building).

The Village's own five member Architectural Advisory Panel opposed demolition, but again was ignored by the Village Board. Except for one Board member, the Village Board ignored its own plan (never mentioned it at any public meeting), ignored professional advice and community emails that opposed demolition by 32 to 13. We architects reminded the Village Board of its own Village Community Plan but the Board has chosen to ignore its previous commitment to the community and county. The Village Board says we retired volunteer architects are respected yet our pleas to save the Village Green's central building and our suggested renovation and design improvements to the central building have been ignored.

The Kimco plan went before the county Design Advisory Panel (DAP) in October 2010. The final DAP Summary and Motions report was too brief and omitted important critical points made by DAP members. DAP members took turns commenting on the design. The first member made a comment, the next member would say "I agree" and then add his/her own critical comment and so on. We reported these omissions to the DPZ and DAP but there was no response.

DAP members said the Kimco plan, "lacks sense of place, needs a heart like the courtyard, be respectful of the nice scale of the courtyard and upgrade it, courtyard edge is precious (the enclosing buildings), courtyard gets lost if opened up" (central building demolition). The DAP Summary and Motion omitted conclusions that demolition of the central building will destroy all of the good attributes of the courtyard.

The importance of a horseshoe-shaped building enclosing a courtyard is not just the whim of a few community architects. Throughout urban history it has been shown that people prefer to gather in courtyards, plazas, squares, or greens - that are enclosed by a building on three sides - because they "create a sense of place" meaning a person's feeling of pleasant enclosure, like a large outdoor room, and a sense of aesthetic well being. A horseshoe-shaped shopping center around a central landscaped courtyard was the design concept for Wilde Lake Village Green.

The uniformity and proportions of the two-story building on three sides of the courtyard with arcaded shops and office above is an ideal enclosure for the public courtyard. Demolishing the central building opens the courtyard to a large parking lot immediately and forever destroying the sense of place.

Kimco considers the central building a liability rather than an opportunity. We proposed an alternative to demolition. The Giant building is entirely separate from the central building. After the Giant is demolished, the central building's brick wall is exposed to the new parking lot. We propose the exposed wall be opened-up and improved with wider access walks and views into the courtyard and new street level shops and new second floor office windows. Colorful sign graphics, banners, and lighting will attract customers from the parking lot. Kimco will admit this solution is less expensive and less disruptive and more sustainable than demolishing the central building and mitigating the remaining building's utility systems, fire stairs and demolition scars.

The Wilde Lake Village Center was the first when Columbia opened in 1967. It guided the design of other village centers in Columbia and around the country, even overseas. The buildings are a critically important piece of Columbia history and late 1960's quality architecture and retail environment. It expresses Jim Rouses' still valid philosophy to separate people from traffic and parking lots by placing shops around landscaped courtyards.

If demolition of the central building is allowed it will be remembered as a crime in Columbia's history. We urge the Planning Board to have the courage to do the right thing by making a primary condition of approval the retention and renovation of the central building. The Planning Board will have a public meeting about this Case ZB 1096M on Thursday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the County's Howard Building in Ellicott City.

Robert Tennenbaum

Jervis Dorton

Cy Paumier

Columbia