Lakeforest Sketch Plan Approved Unanimously

“Tonight we approved the Lakeforest Sketch Plan application & MXD rezoning by a 5-0 vote. During policy discussion, I implored the applicant to wow us at the schematic development stage and create a destination with a true sense of place. A true Transformational opportunity for the City of Gaithersburg!” – Gaithersburg City Councilmember, Jim McNulty

The next step is for WRS, Inc. to present a Schematic Development Plan (SDP) that will include very specific designs for the soon-to-be redeveloped Lakeforest Mall land. In a January meeting, WRS Inc. stated plans to demolish “as soon as they can.” Previously, WRS mentioned 2024 as a target date for demolition to occur and new construction to begin. This is all dependent on approval of the SDP in the coming months. Our very own Alex Tsironis discusses it on FOX 5 below:

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History: Lakeforest Mall first opened on September 12, 1978. At that time, the mall’s anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s. The mall was one of the first in the United States to feature an indoor ice skating rink on the lower level, in the “H section”, along with being the biggest indoor shopping mall in the county at the time of grand opening. The ice skating rink was replaced by a NTI Theaters movie theater in 1984, later renamed Cineplex Odeon Lakeforest 5, then by a food court, which now occupies the space. The mall was built on top of Lake Walker, a park on the property prior. The mall opened with approximately 30-50 stores, with some of the first stores being relocated from the then nearby indoor Village Mall (now an outdoor strip mall called Montgomery Village Center since 1991) and absorbed onto the property.