Fall River Terrace Apartments Plan Given Thumbs Up In Columbia

COLUMBIA, MD — Plans for a four-story apartment building with 76 units has advanced after the Howard County Planning Board approved the site development plan this summer.

Called Fall River Terrace Apartments, the project is spearheaded by Enterprise Community Development and will sit on 2.84 acres of land zoned "new town" at the northeast corner of Harpers Farm Road and Elliots Oak Road in the Village of Harper's Choice.

ECD builds, preserves and operates affordable homes to "uplift residents and communities." They are the largest nonprofit developer in the Mid-Atlantic region and currently has 15 communities and approximately 1,300 apartment homes in Howard County.

The original Fall River Terrace apartment building was built in 1971 and the existing structures have "aging, obsolete systems and inefficient unit layouts," according to the development plan submitted to the county planning board.

The proposed 76-unit apartment complex replacing the older units will have energy-efficient systems and features, including a solar array and electric vehicle charging. Plans include apartments designed to accommodate residents with physical limitations, with all the apartments visitable for guests with varying abilities. Plans also include six nearby townhomes, according to the development plan.

Kerry Lenny, spokesperson for Howard County Planning and Zoning, told Patch that this spot is appropriately zoned for the project.

"There is an urgent need for housing in Howard County and across the state that the county is committed to helping alleviate," Lenny said.

The county's development plan for Columbia is to increase the overall residential density in the New Town District, including the addition of 300 apartment/multi-family units overall.