Artist Flats House, Performance Arts Center Coming To Columbia

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Leaders have broken ground on the proposed Performance Arts Center and Artists Flats to be located in downtown Columbia.

As part of the Downtown Columbia Plan that was passed in 2010, the Performing Arts Center will be located at the site of Toby’s Dinner Theatre. The center will feature a 340-seat dinner theater, two 200-seat black box theaters, a public art gallery and several dance studios and performance classrooms.

"For me, this is a particularly personal milestone. I served on the Howard County Council in 2010 when the Downtown Columbia Plan passed unanimously. I am thrilled to see parts of this plan come to fruition today. Downtown Columbia will continue to grow and expand as a destination for the arts. We are also fulfilling our commitment to providing more diverse income housing in this highly desirable downtown area, furthering our mission to keep Columbia a truly inclusive place for all," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball during a news conference.

The PAC will become a part of a broader network of arts organizations that have a presence in downtown Columbia, including the Merriweather Arts & Culture Center, Inner Arbor Trust, the Lakefront, Color Burst Park and the Chrysalis. Toby’s Dinner Theater will become a part of the Columbia Center for the Theatrical Arts, a nonprofit organization that provides performing arts education to youth throughout the county.

“The Merriweather District is a major arts and cultural hub in Howard County and the region,” said Coleen West, executive director of the Howard County Arts Council. “The Arts Council is looking forward to being part of the new cultural center and contributing to the vibrancy of the district’s art scene. Our new gallery and community black box theatre will provide much-needed creative space for artists to present new work and for residents and visitors to enjoy and engage in the arts. Today, we are not just breaking ground for new construction - we are laying the groundwork for a place to enrich and uplift our community and to nurture the next generation of writers, directors, producers, patrons, actors and artists."

The Artists Flats will feature 174 mixed-income units serving a full spectrum of household incomes. It will be the first of its kind mixed-use building in the county. Artists Flats will contain a memorial for the late Tom Carbo, who was the executive director of the Housing Commission at the time the affordable housing plan for Downtown Columbia Plan passed in 2016.

“A core component of a vibrant community is a strong arts space that encourages creativity,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “The Performing Arts Center and Artists Flats will not only become a place of creativity in Columbia, but will serve as a catalyst for continued economic growth in the area and an opportunity for more people to live affordably in Howard County.”