ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Government and its design consultant, Arcadis, are set to host a series of in-person and virtual community meetings from February 27th to March 21st to gather community feedback about how a new, future Howard County Library System (HCLS) Central branch can best benefit Downtown Columbia and all of Howard County. There are five potential sites being considered that will be presented to the public as options, including a site in the Merriweather District, two different sites in the Lakefront District, a site at The Mall in Columbia and the existing Central branch site.
The in-person community meetings will take place at Howard Community College’s (HCC) Dwight A. Burrill Galleria (“Galleria”) and Monteabaro Recital Hall, located in the Peter & Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center. These meetings are scheduled to take place on:
- Tuesday, February 27th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Galleria
- Thursday, March 14th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Monteabaro Recital Hall
- Saturday, March 16th from Noon to 2:00 p.m., In-Person at HCC’s Galleria
- Thursday, March 21st at 6:00 p.m., Virtually. Register to join this virtual meeting HERE.
Arcadis is a leading global design and consultancy organization for natural and built assets. The County previously partnered with Arcadis to act as project manager and develop master plan options for the design and build of the new Howard County Circuit Courthouse, which opened in July 2021.
An interpreter for people who are deaf or hard of hearing will be available if requested seven working days prior to the meeting. Please call the Office of Public Information at 410-313-2022 (voice) or use Relay at 7-1-1, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For more information about these community meetings or for questions, please email HCLibrary@arcadis.com.