The Lakefront area in Downtown Columbia is a special space in our community. It is a gathering place for celebrations, entertainment and recreation, and has been the site of discussion, debate and civic engagement for decades.

With a boardwalk, monuments, and access to retail, restaurants, offices, homes, parks and pathways, many in our community connect with this area as the historical “heart” of Columbia. Over the years, Columbia Association has worked with the community to set in place bricks underfoot dedicated to the people of Columbia, giving them a permanent presence among us, even though many can no longer be with us in person.

The process of preparing and installing these bricks is intensive and disruptive to the activity in this well-used space, therefore CA has put in place brief windows of time every few years for those interested in participating. At the conclusion of the last round of brick installation in 2017, we did not anticipate the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 and 2021. Now that the intended time of a new round of installation is upon us, we must unfortunately delay this process for an unknown period.

Many difficult decisions and re-prioritizations have been made since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that CA continues to provide open space, amenities and programs that benefit the community. At this time, we are unable to support the program of brick purchase and installation that was expected to take place during 2021.

For those that have submitted interest in this program since 2017, we will endeavor to follow through on this opportunity at some point in the future. However, we cannot provide a clear timeframe at this time. When we are able to implement this program, the community will be made aware through our standard communications channels including newsletters, social media and website.

We thank you for your understanding, and look forward to providing updates on this program soon.