Wilde Lake Park

Table of Contents

Wilde Lake is a man-made drainage reservoir in Columbia, Maryland, that was built in 1966 and is named after the neighboring “village” of residences about north and west of Columbia Town Center. On June 21, 1967, James W. Rouse and Frazar B. Wilde formally opened the village, which was the first phase of Columbia’s “New Town” to be created in the late 1960s. Frazar B. Wilde, a former chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and a previous employer of James Rouse, is honoured by the lake and municipality. The corporation agreed to pay the secret property purchases in exchange for an equity stake in the company in 1963. The Howard Research and Development Corporation, a joint venture formed to create Columbia, was established to formalise this relationship.
Wilde Lake, having a capacity of 48,200,000 gallons, receives storm water runoff from 1140 acres. Mort Hoppenfeld, a Rouse executive, constructed the 27-foot-tall, 200-foot-wide dam that inundated the fields between Oakland Manor and the per-colonial Old Oakland manor across the Patuxent River branch. The dam project was initially planned at $500,000, but by the time it was completed, it had cost $900,000. Engineer George Levine made a quick design improvement that brought the cost down to $250,000. Spiro Agnew announced the entrance of the first Columbia-based scientific enterprise, Hittman Associates, in 1969, who relocated from Howard Research and Development for better lease rates. The EPA then hired Hittman, who recommended that Wilde Lake reuse storm water runoff from the reservoir for Columbia residents’ drinking water in order to save money on development costs.

History Wilde Lake Park

Columbia’s developer wanted to enhance the population density of existing land in order to make a profitable regeneration of Columbia’s outdated infrastructure as the planned town reached its design capacity and development options dwindled. In 2008, the current owner of the village centre, Kimco Realty Corporation, proposed a contentious redevelopment proposal that would have demolished buildings and replaced them with a large number of apartments in a mixed-use project. At a meeting on June 1, 2009, a Kimco executive called the scheme “null and worthless.” “I have no notion what the concept is right now,” stated the vice president of Acquisitions and Development. Kimco broke ground on a $17 million project in 2013, which included the demolition of the neighborhood grocery store and the construction of 250 multi-story garage apartments and 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of office space. The project is the company’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project. On-site storm water management, efficient lighting, native landscaping, and sustainable construction materials are among the LEED characteristics integrated into the design. David’s Natural Market, an organic and whole foods grocery store, decided to open a 24,000 square foot (2,200 m2) store inside the village centre as a result of the makeover. Wood Partners took over the project in 2015, renaming it Alta Wilde Lake and spending $45 million to build 230 units with a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) commercial component and a predicted 4% rent growth.

Wilde Lake Park Location

10002 Hyla Brook Rd, Columbia, MD 21044, United States

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/venue/wilde-lake-park/

+14107153000

Driving Directions from Ellicott City Maryland, USA

Take Old Columbia Pike and US-29 S to W Running Brook Rd in Columbia 8 min (4.7 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 2.1 mi
Take exit 20B toward Columbia/Town Center 0.6 mi
Merge onto Little Patuxent Pkwy 0.3 mi
Continue on W Running Brook Rd. Drive to Hyla Brook Rd 30 s (0.1 mi)
Wilde Lake Park

Driving Directions from Washington District of Columbia, USA

Follow 16th St NW, 14th St NW and 16th St NW to Colesville Rd 23 min (6.1 mi)
Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW 394 ft
Exit the traffic circle onto 16th St NW 2.0 mi
Continue straight to stay on 16th St NW 1.1 mi
Turn right onto Colorado Ave NW 0.3 mi
Turn left onto 14th St NW 177 ft
Continue straight to stay on 14th St NW 1.1 mi
Turn left onto Aspen St NW 0.2 mi
Turn right at the 1st cross street onto 16th St NW
Entering Maryland 1.4 mi
Take US-29 N/Columbia Pike to MD-175 W/Rouse Pkwy in Columbia. Take exit 20 from US-29 N/Columbia Pike 32 min (19.6 mi)
Take Little Patuxent Pkwy to Hyla Brook Rd 2 min (1.0 mi)
Wilde Lake Park