Knott Realty Plans Possible New Emerson Office Park

According to the Baltimore Business Journal, Knott Realty recently purchased 60 more acres in Emerson for $13M from Howard Hughes Corporation and plans to build as much as 600,000 sq. ft. of office space including a possible retail component.

The proposed campus would be called "Emerson Corporate Commons North" and would complement the existing Emerson Commons office park on Stephens Road and Sterling Drive.

To date about 750,000 sq. ft. of office space has already been built in Emerson Commons on 50 acres of land, though 160,000 sq. ft. in Emerson VIII (between Whiskey Bottom Road and Sterling Drive) is still not leased. Knott says that Emerson Commons could eventually grow to a total of 900,000 sq. ft.

Grand Re-Opening of Savage Branch Library & STEM Center on 7/22/14

(Updated with video and photos from the Grand Re-Opening)

The renovated Howard County Savage Branch Library & STEM Education Center will re-open on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:30 PM. Doors will open at 12:45 PM and tours and activities will be held up to 6 PM.

During the year-long renovation a small Express Branch Library opened in the Lincoln Center shopping center near Route 1. The Express Branch closed on June 28th.

Among the $6M in improvements made to the Savage Branch Library were:

• The site was expanded to use the former Senior Center and Health Department spaces, increasing public areas by 9,000 sq. ft. to 24,000 sq. ft.
• A Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education Center was created:

In the Garden

I noticed that some people's flowerbeds look really nice, especially the ornamental grasses, so I asked someone how they achieved this.

Apparently the secret is not to just let them grow however they'd like, but rather to:

• Cut these grassy plants back to the ground in the Fall at the end of the season.
• In the Spring and Summer after they've grown back, prune them on a regular basis to remove any dead or dying blades. Once you've started doing this it's fairly easy to just maintain it each day.
• Also prune them around the base if you'd like to keep them looking more like a clean bunch, especially since these plants spread in part by sending runners underground.

Reminder: Recyclables Pick-up Delayed in Holiday Week

Happy Independence Day Week!

As a reminder, since the holiday falls on Friday, Howard County's pick-up for recyclables will slide one day to Saturday while trash pick-up is unaffected:

Tuesday (7/1/14): Trash pick-up (normal schedule)
Saturday (7/5/14) Recyclables pick-up (slides down one day)

You can find the rest of the scheduled slide days for the year on Howard County's web site, Holiday Slide Schedule, but they are reposted here for your convenience:

Safeway BBQ Battle (DC)

One of the advantages of living halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC is the wealth of things to do, some of them fairly unique to the area. 

This month we're highlighting the Safeway BBQ Battle, the 22nd Annual edition of which was held just a week ago on the weekend of June 21-22.

Each year Pennsylvania Avenue NW is closed between 9th Street and 14th Street in Washington, DC and turned into a combination food and music festival with a barbecue competition attached to it.

Our Newest Neighbor: Jailbreak Brewing

Last year Howard County changed its zoning laws to allow commercial ("Class 5") microbreweries producing up to 22,500 barrels of beer and the first of these new breweries, Jailbreak Brewing, opened up on Route 1 only a few miles from us with an emphasis on their own unique recipes for beer.

(Blackeyed Susan Brewing is also looking to open in Columbia, and the owners of Victoria Gastro Pub plan to start another new variation, Manor Hill Farm Brewery in Ellicott City.)

Jailbreak Brewing's industrial exterior hides a spacious, tasteful Tap Room clad in stainless steel, wood and stone, with a large plexiglass window providing a view into the brewing operations.

School's Out: Ice Cream and Movie Night!

Adrienne and her girls hosted another informal social event that they opened to the entire Autumn Walk community, an ice cream social followed by a movie night to celebrate the last day of school!

Adrienne had three tables set up with a huge array of toppings:

Vanilla ice cream and about 20 different toppings

Sterling Park Playground Renovation

(Updated 6/26/14 with pictures of the new equipment - which looks great!)

Emerson HOA sent out a message today saying that the long-planned replacement of the playground equipment at Sterling Park is scheduled to begin Friday or Monday, depending on the weather.

Sterling Park is on Eternal Sky Drive, bounded by Fall Rain Drive
and Deep Skies Drive

The Old Playground Equipment

6/23/14:

Everything was ripped out on June 23rd

Emerson 2014 Picnic and Pool Party

It was a beautiful day for the Annual Emerson Pool Party...it felt like the whole community was out there at some point in the day!

Flamingo Rising

Many thanks to Bindu and Dharm for kicking off the 2014 Flamingo Friday Season on "Flamingo the Thirteenth"!

The Flamingo Stops to Smell the Flowers

I had to leave early but I think I saw about half of the street there and even a few "alumni". The potluck was starting to roll in and there were a few growlers from the local vats of Jailbreak Brewing for a little judicious sampling!

The early afternoon deluge gave way to a perfect summer's evening with a light breeze, though I think the next storm rolled in at the end of the night to chase the stragglers away.

The Flamingo is now back in the Flamingo Cave but keep an eye peeled for further appearances (or drag him out yourself and host a Flamingo Friday)!

Emerson Community - Gorman Road Closure 6/21/14

(Update 8/12/14: Gorman Road Re-Opens!)

Gorman Road will be closed for construction for a month starting about June 21st. Below is the note from Emerson's CMC management team as well as a transcript of the voice recording from Howard County:

EMERSON COMMUNITY/GORMAN ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION: 

Laurel Main Street Festival 2014

Laurel held its annual Main Street Festival on May 10th with the parade starting at 9 AM.

Greenfest: Deterring Deer

One of the most useful events at Howard County Greenfest 2013 was the presentation by the University of Maryland's Master Gardener Kent Phillips, "Deterring Deer and Other Critters."

That's a guilty look if I ever saw one

About 80 people attended an hour-long presentation packed with information about how gardeners and homeowners can prevent their plants from being eaten by wild animals.

Some highlights:

• Deer will eat anything if the population is high and they're hungry enough. Deer will walk through and sample everything, staying away from resistant plants until there's nothing else to eat. 
• Howard County has lots of woods incorporated into the Columbia-proper area. Deer sleep in the woods, then come out and eat everything.
• Sustainable deer population is 15-20 per square mile. Howard County has 10,000 deer or 40/square mile, double the sustainable population. An aerial infrared study in 2009 found 90 deer in a 0.2 square mile area (450/square mile) in one location in Elkridge.

Emerson Master HOA Notes 1/27/14 (and 2014 Calendar)

(Updated Calendar Dates on 6/15/14)

From the Emerson Board Meeting on 1/27/14:

• Removal of walking paths near schools
• Financial issues - HOA debt restructured, reduced
• Significant costs at community events (RSVP no-shows, lack of volunteers)
• Security cameras
• Clubhouse renovation survey results
• Miscellaneous Items
• 2014 Emerson HOA Event Calendar

Details:

Pulling Up (Tree) Stakes

Damon has already taken care of most of them, but if the trees near your home have been in place for a year, you can pull out the 5-foot wooden stakes installed to keep them from leaning over during their initial transplant period. You should be able to work the stakes back and forth to loosen them and then pull them out.

If each of you can do this for the trees on or near your property, it will both enhance the appearance of the community and allow the trees to continue growing.

Disposing of the Stakes
The stakes should be taken to the Alpha Ridge Howard County Landfill on Marriottsville Road.