My latest article on Columbia Association’s Monthly magazine.
River Hill is the newest of Columbia’s 10 villages, dating back to 1991. It had been around for nearly two decades by the time I moved here in 2010. Like those who were drawn to elsewhere in Columbia, there was much we found attractive about living in River Hill — the trails and pathways, the village center, the great schools and accessibility.
And as with Columbia, there’s much about River Hill that continues to change. While the village is still relatively new, there are many developments that have been completed, are going on now or are coming soon both in and around the area.
River Hill Garden Center has expanded and Clarksville Commons is being built. There’s a proposal for the auto park to expand as well. New retail stores may be added. New homes could soon be constructed. The U.S. Postal Service wants to open a new post office in the area after the previous one closed some five years ago. And the state and county governments recently announced that Route 32 would be widened from north of Clarksville up into Carroll County. All of this taken together is a sign of how the village and general area are growing.
There’s also plenty already here. I’m glad to see that River Hill Village Center is doing well. Our family enjoys going to River Hill Pool, which recently received an honorable mention in Howard Magazine’s annual awards as one of the best pools for kids. We like Columbia Gym, Columbia Association’s fitness club in the village center. That’s usually where we start our walks around the village. Besides CA’s pathways, there’s the system of trails in the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, a 1,021-acre natural preserve.
River Hill is home as well to a couple of annual events. This will be the fifth year of the River Hill Health Fair, which is hosted by the River Hill Community Association and Coalition Halting Obesity in Children Everywhere, or CHOICE, a nonprofit founded by River Hill High School students. And every 4th of July brings the River Hill Independence Day Parade, which includes the fun and popular Precision Lawn Chair Marching Dads, who are better seen live since no description will do them justice.
This is a great community. I am calling upon our residents to participate in our meetings and share their perspectives to help make this an even better place to be.
Chao Wu
Online version is located at Columbia Association’s website:
http://www.columbiaassociation.com/Home/Components/News/News/962/343