About Autumn Walk

Autumn Walk is a friendly, hidden gem of a neighborhood composed of 45 distinctive townhomes on the street Garden Ranges in the Emerson Community of North Laurel (#23 on Money Magazine's 2015 Best Places to Live). It is in southeastern Howard County, MD on the southern boundary of the planned community of Columbia (midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore).

Howard County is known for its excellent, top-rated public school system and high quality of life, with diverse, multi-cultural and affluent suburban communities nestled into the woods and rolling hills of Maryland's Piedmont region. Columbia/Ellicott City are consistently ranked in the Top 10 in Money Magazine's biennial list of "Best Places to Live in America."

About Autumn Walk
Autumn Walk was built in 2011-2012 by Miller & Smith, an innovative builder based in McLean, VA using designs known as The Magic Collection. In keeping with that theme, left-end units use the Houdini I floorplan, interior units use the Merlin, and right-end units use Houdini II.

Floorplan for "Merlin" Interior Units

These unique floorplans create rooms wider than the width of the townhome by angling the back section of each unit at a 45-degree angle, making the combined living room and kitchen area (known as the Great Room) the centerpiece of the houses. 

Here's a link to the original marketing material for Autumn Walk from Miller & Smith that contains rough dimensions for the main rooms: The Magic Collection (PDF file)

The townhomes all include three living-area levels and two-car garages, and range in size from 2700-2900 sq. ft.

The homes in Autumn Walk form a cul-de-sac around two roundabouts, with a large rectangular central island toward the end of the street.

About Emerson

Emerson is a master-planned mixed-use community on 570 acres near I-95 between MD-32 and MD-216, with 250 acres retained as green space. The community is named for Ralph Waldo Emerson and the names of the various streets and neighborhoods are inspired by passages from his works.

"Autumn Walk: A valuable walk through the savage, fertile, houseless land..."

-- from Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson was first developed by the Rouse Company, the original builders of Columbia, and ownership passed to General Growth Properties which spun off the Howard Hughes Corporation, the current developer.

The residential portions of Emerson are supplemented by commercial office buildings and plans call for the development of retail shopping centers.

Photo Credit: R. Ransier

"As the bee through the garden ranges,

From world to world the godhead changes"

-- from Woodnotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

About the Area
Just minutes from major employment centers such as Ft. Meade, Columbia, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, and the FDA campus in Silver Spring (as well the Emerson Corporate Commons office park within Emerson itself), Autumn Walk at Emerson offers convenient access to great schools, shopping centers, and historic Savage Mill.

Downtown Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. are all within 20-30 miles of Emerson, and DC Metro's Green Line is approximately 25 minutes away. Three major airports serve the region, with Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport closest at 16 miles away.

Schools: Gorman Crossing Elementary; Murray Hill Middle; Atholton High
Government:

• Howard County Council District 3
• Maryland Legislative District 13 (one senator, three delegates)
• Maryland 2nd US Congressional District (one of eight US Representatives)
• US Senate (two US Senators elected statewide)

Libraries: Howard County Savage Branch Library and STEM Center, Prince George's County Laurel Branch Library [web site]
Shopping: Savage Mill (aka "Santa Heim"); Columbia Mall; Snowden Square Shopping Center; Dobbin Road Center; Columbia Crossing; Columbia Gateway Overlook; Towne Centre at Laurel; Laurel Lakes Mall; Arundel Mills Mall; Konterra (planned for 2018)
Grocery Stores: Weis Supermarkets; Harris Teeter (Kings Contrivance, Maple Lawn, Towne Centre at Laurel); Wegmans (Columbia); Whole Foods (Columbia)
Farmers Markets: Gorman Farm; Laurel Dutch Country Farmers Market
Recreation:

• Swimming Pool and Tennis Courts (Emerson); Emerson Community Tot Lots (Sterling Park; Bradwell Park; Haddon Hall Park)
• Savage Park; North Laurel Recreation Center; Howard County Walking & Biking Trails (Savage Mill; Patuxent Branch; Wincopin); Howard County Robinson Nature Center [web]; Dinosaur Park; BWI Observation Park
• Autobahn Indoor Speedway; ClimbZone; Corn Mazes; SkyZone Columbia Trampoline Park; Terrapin Adventures; The Gardens Ice House (ice rink & curling - web site)

Fitness Facilities: North Laurel Community Center [web site]; Lifetime Fitness; Gold's Gym; Sport Fit Racquet; CoreWorks; Columbia Association [web site]
Sports: Howard County Leagues [web site]; Maryland Juniors (volleyball, basketball) [web site]; Volleyball House [web site]; Baltimore Beach Volleyball (Baltimore Inner Harbor) [web site]; Benfield Sport Center (futsal, soccer, etc. in Millersville, MD in Anne Arundel County) [web site]; SkyZone Columbia (indoor trampoline park) [web site]
Arts: Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts; Columbia Art Center [web site]; Columbia Festival of the Arts [web site]; HCPSS K-12 Spring Art Exhibition; African Art Museum of Maryland (Fulton, MD)
Music and Dancing: Merriweather Post Pavilion; Toby's Dinner Theater; Hollywood Ballroom; Cancun Cantina (Hanover, MD near BWI); Nick's Country Nightclub (Alexandria, VA); Promenade Dancesport Facility (Baltimore, MD); Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom (Glen Echo, MD); Overview: Social Dancing
Food and Beverage:

• Jailbreak Brewing; Lost Ark Distilling; Ram's Head Tavern (Savage Mill); Black Flag Brewing (Columbia); Hysteria Brewing (Columbia); Manor Hill Brewing (Columbia); Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House (coming soon to Halethorpe, MD)
• see also Howard County Restaurant Weeks (more photos); Food Trucks; Georgetown Cupcake

Festivals: Wine in the Woods (Spring); Maryland Renaissance Festival (Fall); Laurel Main Street Festival; Columbia Festival of the Arts [web site] (four seasonal festivals); Howard County Beer Week (March/April); National Cherry Blossom Festival (March/April in DC)
Historic Venues: Belmont Manor; Blandair Mansion (under reconstruction); George Washington's Mount Vernon (VA); Montpelier Mansion; Riversdale Mansion (College Park, MD); Waverly Mansion (Marriottsville, MD)
Hospitals: Howard County General Hospital; Laurel Regional Hospital
Business Development: Howard County: Economic Development Authority [web site]; Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE) [web site]
Airports: Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) - including BWI Cell Phone Lot; Reagan National (DCA); Washington Dulles (IAD); College Park (CGS) - historic airport ("The Cradle of Aviation")
Emerson Events: Clean-up Day (April); Children's Egg Hunt (April); Yard Sale (May); Pool/Picnic Party (June); National Night Out (Safety/Security Awareness event in August); Children's Fall Costume Event (Halloween); Holiday Open House with Santa & Elves (early December)

Related Posts:

• North Laurel, MD: #23 Money Magazine Best Places to Live (8/19/15)
• Stephens Manor (8/29/12)
• Flamingo Fridays! (4/24/13)
• 2015 Autumn Walk Halloween Block Party and Chili Cook-Off (11/2/15) [2016 | 2017]
• Autumn Is Our Season (An Autumn Walk Photo Album) (8/12/14)
• So Much Fun: 2015 Autumn Walk Picnic (9/1/15) [2016 | 2017]
• 2014 Autumn Walk Picnic (9/29/14)
• A Great Halloween - Part 1 (11/3/14)
• A Great Halloween - Part 2 (11/3/14)
• Local History: Freestate Raceway (2/10/15)
• Local History: By Any Other Name - the origin of the names of streets and communities in our area

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