After listening to officials of General Growth Properties Inc. explain the first phase of a master plan to revitalize downtown Columbia April 28, Michael Davis said he wants redevelopment to occur as quickly as possible.

"I'm coming from a dynamic perspective," said Davis, a Columbia resident and co-founder of the pro-urbanization group Bring Back the Vision. "I don't see us as another suburb. I see us as a destination."

With the help of consultants and architects, General Growth officials have crafted what Davis considers a bold plan with new retail shops and enhanced landscaping. The scope of the first phase of the master plan is big enough to achieve a vibrant downtown with an urban feel, he added.

Davis said he was particularly impressed with the "Spanish steps," a garden-lined walkway developers hope to install as a connector between the Columbia mall and Lake Kittamaqundi. He hopes the "Spanish steps" along with other wide pedestrian paths in the plan can make Columbia more accessible to walkers and bikers, he said.

While General Growth officials said they will ask Howard County officials for permission to build 5,500 new residential units in downtown Columbia, the plans they presented to residents April 28 offered no details of where those units would be located.

Davis said he believes 5,500 new units could help make the downtown urban and vibrant and would be necessary in order to provide an area that includes some affordable housing.

The amount of new residential development in downtown Columbia has been a point of contention between many area residents and officials. Some contend Town Center cannot accommodate the volume of traffic and activity from thousands of new homes, but Davis disagrees.

"I don't know if 5,500 is enough," said Davis, a partner at the law firm Davis, Agnor, Rapaport and Skalny LLC, of Columbia. "I know it's a number that should be able to work in the downtown area."

E-mail Andrei Blakely at ablakely@patuxent.com.

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