WRS Inc. has taken another formal step in the redevelopment of the former Lakeforest Mall property with a Final Site Plan application scheduled to go before the Gaithersburg Planning Commission this week.
Final Site Plan application SP-10278-2026 is scheduled for review on February 4 in the Council Chambers at 16 South Summit Avenue. The application seeks confirmation that proposed residential building types meet the Lakeforest Master Plan definition of gap housing. Those building types include 4-story stacked gap units, 4-story back-to-back gap units, and 3-story duplex gap units.
The application is part of a broader set of Final Site Plan submissions connected to the early phases of the Lakeforest Project. WRS Inc. has also submitted applications SP-10031-2025 and SP-10084-2025 covering Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the redevelopment.
Phase 1 focuses on infrastructure work, including new storm drain systems and the reshaping of one of the stormwater management ponds on the site. Phase 2 includes construction of Street One, Street Two, and Lakeforest Boulevard, establishing the internal roadway network needed for future development.
At this time, the Phase 1 and Phase 2 applications remain under review and have not yet been scheduled for a public hearing. SP-10278-2026 is the only Lakeforest-related site plan currently placed on a Planning Commission agenda.
Public comments on the applications may be submitted by mail to 31 South Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or by email to [email protected]. New renderings released in November provided the most detailed look to date at the future mixed-use community planned for the site, which is intended to replace the long-closed shopping center with housing, streets, and public infrastructure.
Lakeforest Mall officially closed on March 31, 2023, ending nearly 45 years of operation. The mall originally opened on September 12, 1978, with anchor stores including JCPenney, Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s. It was the largest indoor shopping mall in Montgomery County at the time and one of the first malls in the country to feature an indoor ice-skating rink. The rink, located in the H section, was later replaced by a movie theater in 1984, which eventually became the food court. The mall was built on the former Lake Walker Park and opened with approximately 30 to 50 stores, many of which relocated from the nearby Village Mall, now Montgomery Village Center.
