TAKE A TOUR OF THE VILLAGES OF COLUMBIA

Homes in Columbia Maryland have the special identity of the Columbia Village in which they were built over the past 41 years. The community planners considered the needs of families and developed the town on the "village" concept. Each village has it's own unique personality and primary architectural style. With acres of nature preserved in each village, the homes in Columbia have quiet and peaceful surrounds with wildlife protected and encouraged. This unique contemporary collection of Villages will welcome you home in Columbia. Columbia's vast open spaces are a great source of pride and enjoyment to the Columbia community. The Columbia Association currently maintains over 3100 acres of open space, including 156 tot lots, 235 pedestrian bridges, the 40-acre Symphony Woods, 15 overpasses and underpasses, 3 lakes, 20 ponds, and natural open space areas, interlaced with more than 83 miles of pathways for walking, biking and jogging. Columbia Maryland homes are the pride of Howard County real estate.

VILLAGE OF HARPER'S CHOICE
If you like Contemporary architecture, you'll love many of the homes in Villages of Harper's Choice. This was the third Columbia Village. The "villages' are named for Longfellow, for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Hobbit's Glen, named the works of J.R. Tolkein; and Swansfield, named for the paintings of Whistler. If you haven't noticed already, community and street names in Columbia were inspired. Of course, Harper's Choice was inspired and offers a golf course as well as several parks. Hobbit's Glen has a full service clubhouse featuring a well stocked, competitively priced pro shop, full practice facility and CoHo Grill, a full service restaurant.

VILLAGE OF WILDE LAKE
Wilde Lake, dedicated in June, 1967 is Columbia's first Village. Built around a lake. This 22-acre man-made lake has a depth range from 13 feet at the back of the dam to 7-8 feet in the central part of the lake. The site was originally a low-lying meadow covered with rough grass, with a small stream running through it. The dam face is constructed in 4 steps of poured concrete with surface texture achieved by the use of logs imprinted in the concrete. The dam is 200 feet by 15 feet high. Water flows downstream into Lake Kittamaqundi. The path around the lake is 1.46 miles. Wilde Lake Village offers neighborhoods of Bryant Woods, Faulkner Ridge and Running Brook (The Birches is in Running Brook). Bryant Woods was the first neighborhood developed in the village. Population, approximately 7,000; dwelling units, approximately 2,700.

VILLAGE OF DORSEY'S SEARCH
On of the newer of the ten villages, Dorsey's Search was the ninth to be developed. Families began moving in to their homes in Dorsey's Search in 1980. Since then, there are over 7,500 residents. The community contains single family homes, town homes and condominium homes. Dorsey's Search is popular with first time buyers since it offers some very affordable Columbia real estate with "under 10 year old" condominium homes and town homes. The Village's street names were selected from the collection of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poetry. DORSEY HALL is named after the family home. The original Dorsey Hall still stands close to Route 29 at the intersection of Route 108. The community was names after the Dorsey Hall Manor House built by the Dorseys in the early 1700's.

VILLAGE OF TOWN CENTER
The community of Town Center is unique since it offers primarily condominium and town home type homes, in non-continguous communities, all within walking distance of The Mall at Columbia. With just over 1200 residential homes located and a bit over 100 more scheduled for completion in 2001-2, Town Center will retain it's urban ambiance. One thing you will always see in Town Center is residents walking or biking around or to and from The Mall. Vantage Point (Town Center community) comes from a poem by Robert Frost. Streets are named from Frost and William Cullen Bryant.

VILLAGE OF HICKORY RIDGE
The first home owners moved in to Hickory Ridge in 1971 and have been at home here ever since. This is a large community going from the heart of Hickory Ridge to Route 32. Over 4,600 homes and over 13,000 residents, Hickory Ridge is a vibrant community with small convenience shopping throughout and convenient lovely homes for Maryland first time home buyers and move up buyers. As with all Villages in Columbia, Hickory Ridge offers recreational facilities for folks to enjoy and stay fit. Columbia Association facilities in our village include three outdoor pools, two outdoor basketball courts, bike paths and tot lots. Enjoy. Much of Hickory Ridge was a dairy farm operated by the Bassler family. Their airplane landing strip, located near the hospital and Howard Community College, was paved over and called Little Patuxent Parkway.

VILLAGE OF RIVER HILL
River Hill is Columbia's tenth village and one of the most popular with buyers looking for new homes in Columbia. Recently constructed communities and a very popular public school cluster attract buyers to homes in River Hill. Also, a new shopping center at Routes 32 and 108 AND a fabulous hardware store make this community a must see if you are looking for a newer home. The village of River Hill is the tenth and last of the Columbia villages to be developed. River Hill consists of 1,745 acres with over 50% of its acreage devoted to open space, which includes the 900 acres of the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Upon completion, River Hill will include 2,300 dwelling units with 480 units devoted to multifamily housing, condominiums and townhouses; the River Hill Village Shopping Center; and the Columbia Association's fitness facility. River Hill was the site of a game farm. The streets are named after the works of Walt Whitman and James Whitcomb Riley. Pheasant Ridge was a land grant patented to Henry Howard in 1745.

VILLAGE OF OAKLAND MILLS
Oakland Mills offers families Columbia real estate with extraordinary value. On a per square foot basis, Oakland Mills is often the best buy in town. A very popular attraction of Oakland Mills is the Columbia Ice Skating Rink. This pond is always frozen. Public sessions, Skate daily, Skate rental, Pro shop, Snack bar, Lessons, Hourly rentals, Parties, Figure Skating and Hockey Clubs.

VILLAGE OF LONG REACH
The largest and one of the oldest of the ten villages that offer homes in Columbia, Maryland. Wonderful communities have grown in Long Reach: Jeffers Hill, Kendall Ridge, Locust Park and Phelps Luck, since construction began in 1971. The population as of 2001 is approximately 15,750 people in about 5,750 homes; condos, town homes and detached single family homes. As in the other villages of Columbia housing styles were planned for Long Reach: townhouses, single-family detached homes, garden apartments. The Village was to retain a large wooded stream traversing the neighborhoods while ponds and naturally wooded areas would remain as neighborhood parks.

VILLAGE OF OWEN BROWN
Owen Brown Village is popular with Columbia home buyers looking for a quick commute to Washington, DC since the community is located on the southern edge of Columbia. It is also close to some of the newer shopping developments along Snowden River Parkway and Broken Land. There are over 3,000 residential homes in Owen Brown, some of the great family homes with porches, mature trees and some newer town homes and condominium homes. Some are walking distance to shopping.

VILLAGE OF KING'S CONTRIVANCE
The Village of King's Contrivance houses about 11,000 residents and is the third largest of the nine villages plus Town Center that make up Columbia. In 1977, the first neighborhood, Macgill's Common, was inhabited and the first village board was elected in April, 1978. The King's Contrivance is Columbia's special-occasion restaurant. Set in a Federalist mansion, it feels like a Vermont country inn. The owners have maintained the integrity of the house, meaning there are lots of lovely rooms and a number of private dining areas and small alcoves, some with only one table. The main dining room is a warm, glowing yellow,while the interior of the house is decorated with darker colors, wood, and plaids.

History of King's Contrivance - The 370-acre farm on which King's Contrivance is located was granted by one of the Lords Baltimore in 1730.

King's Contrivance Restaurant

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