Howard County Purchases $415K Park Property For New Ball Fields, Basketball Courts

HOWARD COUNTY, MD —A 16.5 acre parcel known as the East Columbia Library Park adjacent to Howard County's East Columbia library branch will be bought by the county. The county's recreation and parks department has maintained the property since 1992.

The space will be used to create what the county calls an environmentally friendly community open space that includes new baseball fields, basketball courts, a pavilion and more.

“Howard County remains committed to preserving our existing open spaces,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said Monday at a news conference. “We cherish these large parcels of land and look forward to making this park more even more engaging for the East Columbia community neighbors as a place to get up, get out, get active and have fun.”

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.

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

The property was purchased from the Howard Hughes for $415,000 with the use of Program Open Space funding provided by the state. In addition to more state funding, local funding from the county will be used during the park’s renovation.

“As the community developer of Downtown Columbia, we are proud to continue to partner with Howard County to help advance its 'Climate Forward' action plan and support additional amenities and enhanced resources for our community,” said Kristi Smith, president of the Maryland region for Howard Hughes. “This project will support the healthy, active lifestyle and commitment to sustainability and innovation for which our community is known, and we look forward to it coming to fruition."