Plans Unveiled for New Cultural Center in Columbia

COLUMBIA, MD — The designers of a new arts and residential project presented their plans Thursday night for the land around Toby's Dinner Theatre. Called the New Cultural Center, the building will be seven stories. The first two floors will feature arts venues that are public while the top five floors will contain housing.

The north end of the center will feature a new performance space, and the south end will house classrooms and studios.

Between them will be a shared arts lobby that "allows the visual and performing arts to come together," according to architect Nick Mansperger.

From the front, a wall of windows showcasing dance studios will act as a marquee for the New Cultural Center, he said.

Despite its multifaceted uses, the building "will read as one cohesive design" because of recurring themes like bay windows and terraces, he added.

“It’s really been a dream project,” Mansperger said during Thursday's presubmission community meeting held in Kahler Hall. "The fact that we're able to incorporate a mix of theatrical arts, visual arts, performing arts and housing all into one space where all these different uses come together is something so vibrant and different than what most counties get to have in their downtown."

While five floors of the building will be residential, "the housing is a bit more of a smaller element," Mansperger noted, compared with the focus on the arts spaces. There will be 192 residential units, half of which will be market rate and half of which will be affordable housing, he said.

A total of 750 parking spots are part of the plan, a number that designers said was determined by the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning.

Mansperger works for Design Collective, which also designed The Metropolitan near The Mall in Columbia. As with The Metropolitan, the New Cultural Center will feature an outdoor plaza for public use.

For those concerned about the theater, he said it will continue as usual throughout the process.

“The theater is going to stay operational while we construct the new theater space," Mansperger said. "In one weekend — let's hope — the theater will move into the new building, and we will immediately tear down the old building."

The project will go before the Howard County Design Advisory Panel on Feb. 22, and the goal is to submit the site development plan in March, he reported.

Project managers said their plan is to submit requests for permits late this summer, and they anticipate construction will take 34 months.

Photos by Elizabeth Janney. Images via Design Collective.