As part of the remaking of central Columbia, the developer hopes to provide about 20 percent of new residences for limited-income people through a private, nonprofit corporation.
The idea is to provide "full-spectrum housing" by creating a multimillion-dollar housing fund, said Gregory F. Hamm, vice president of General Growth Properties. The money would come from impact fees charged to developers who buy land in Town Center and from square-foot surcharges on retail and commercial tenants.
"It's our hope that it [the nonprofit] will create the best possible situation and system to achieve that objective," Hamm said.
About half of the affordable units would serve families making less than $80,000 a year, which is 80 percent of Howard County's median household income.
The rest would be for those with incomes of $80,000 to $120,000 a year, with some residences as rentals and some for purchase. All would be mixed among market-rate homes and apartments, and 200 units would be designed for shared use by students, hospital workers and retail and commercial workers who might live and work in the new urban environment planned over the next three decades.
"We'd like to provide a place where students would love to live," Hamm said, referring to the vigorous growth rate at Howard Community College and Howard County General Hospital.
Some homes would be sold on a shared-equity basis with the nonprofit, using a second mortgage to lower the purchase price to buyers - a system the Howard County Housing Commission sometimes uses. Other units would be for seniors. The fund used by the nonprofit also would be flexible, Hamm said, and could help pay for day care programs or other community needs.
The affordable-housing element of the full plan, which is due for formal submission to Howard County government this month, has been perhaps the most sensitive part of the elaborate 30-year GGP proposal left unfinished. The overall plan seeks to transform central Columbia into a densely developed, pedestrian-friendly community with offices, shops, high-rise buildings and public spaces.
Hamm said he wants to steer clear of depending on government programs for fear they could change or be too rigidly regulated. Instead, the nonprofit corporation would hire a local group such as the Columbia Housing Corp. or the Columbia Foundation to operate the new affordable housing.
"The idea is to keep the management district as close to the local level as possible," he said, with community, county government and business people running the nonprofit.
"It gives the community control," Hamm said. "That's what I liked about it."
Several members of a committee convened by GGP to study the plan's affordable-housing component praised the concept and the company's willingness to be creative. Tim Sosinski, an architect, said 20 percent is the baseline goal that could be expanded by the use of other programs.
"Hopefully, with more innovation of design we can do better than that," said Sosinski, who also was co-chairman of the county's 2006 affordable-housing study. "The concept is great. I haven't seen the [final] wording."
But Alan Klein, spokesman for the Coalition for Columbia's Downtown, a citizens group not included on the committee, was critical of the 20 percent figure.
"We're certainly applauding the creative thinking. That's a good thing," Klein said. "The 20 percent ... feels way too small."
Klein noted that 80 percent of the 5,500 residential units planned would be for people making more than $120,000, which he defined as "the wealthy few."
"It seems like a pretty elite group," said Klein, referring to the 20 percent as "a drop in the bucket."
But committee members Sosinski; Sherman Howell, a passionate advocate for housing for the lowest-income families; and Earl Arminger, a builder of affordable units, all praised the GGP concept and seemed satisfied with the 20 percent goal. Howell also commended GGP's approach.
"I think it's great the private sector is doing it," he said, adding that it will be vital to have all 5,500 planned units built to achieve an adequate level of affordable housing.
Arminger, whose firm recently completed a mixed-use affordable apartment house/retail project on U.S. 1, pointed out some of the practical challenges. He noted that anything built in Town Center will be expensive to construct because of underground utilities, demolition costs and the need to build multilevel structures, including parking garages.
The cheapest construction is the typical three-story garden apartment complex on flat, undeveloped land, he said. Above four stories, more expensive commercial practices, including more expensive steel and concrete, raise the costs.
In addition, Arminger warned against concentrating too much affordable housing in one place.
"How much of the burden for affordable housing should be on Town Center?" he asked. "Shouldn't affordable units be spread more broadly around the county?"