Page "Columbia, Maryland" Paragraph 38

James Rouse conceived of a city, not a suburban bedroom community, and a large area on the eastern edge was allocated for industrial purposes.

The centerpiece of this aspect of the development was a General Electric appliance plant on a site.

This plant began operations in 1972 and was closed in 1990, with all but of the property being sold back to HRD.

After toxic waste remediation, one section was redeveloped for big box retail ; the remainder became the large Gateway Commerce office complex, still being expanded.

There is still a smaller industrial area to the south of this, but by and large East Columbia is dominated by commercial real estate: office, retail, and wholesale.

This is somewhat in contrast to the original plan, which saw the Town Center area as the commercial center of Columbia.