Lakeforest Mall redevelopment breaks ground in Gaithersburg

Demolition of Lakeforest Mall is well underway in Gaithersburg, but an official groundbreaking ceremony was held today at the property for what is to replace it. Developer WRS, Inc. was joined by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, former Gaithersburg mayor and current County Council member Sid Katz, and current Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman to officially fire the starting gun on construction of what WRS describes as a "mini-city." The $1.2 billion project will deliver 1600 residential units by three homebuilders, an upgraded Lakeforest Transit Center, and over 470,000-square-feet of retail and restaurant space. Initial tenants will include Sprouts Farmers Market, Home Depot, and a Landmark Theatres cineplex. 

It's shameful what Montgomery County officials and later owners of the property allowed to happen to Lakeforest Mall this century. It was an upscale mall when it opened, and - much like White Flint Mall - to see it being demolished even before the older and less-fancy malls in Bethesda and Wheaton is a sheer travesty. You have to be truly bad at governing to be this good at destroying communities and their crown jewels like this. 

Pour out an Orange Julius for Lakeforest Mall. It was too good for us. We didn't deserve it, after repeatedly electing people who allowed the mall and surrounding area to become overridden by crime. And in terms of what mall owners could control, it was clear that the most recent set of landlords were determined to tear down the mall to reap maximum real estate transaction profit, the community be damned.

Today begins a new chapter for the property. The developer has many challenges ahead, including the aforementioned neighborhood crime, and to deliver a water feature that is as well-integrated and successful as the one at well-ensconced competitor Rio Lakefront. "This is more than just a construction project; it is the rebirth of a community anchor," WRS Inc. Principal Kevin Rogers said in a statement this afternoon. "We aren't just building buildings; we are creating a destination where people can live, work, and thrive without being dependent on their cars. We are proud to deliver a project that honors the legacy of Lakeforest while looking firmly toward the future of Gaithersburg."

Photo courtesy WRS Inc.

Lakeforest Transit Center to be relocated and redeveloped at former Gaithersburg mall property

There's a new development in the redevelopment of the Lakeforest Mall site in Gaithersburg. A ceremony was held yesterday to kick off the first phase of a newly-announced partnership to relocate and redevelop the Lakeforest Transit Center. Transit is key to transforming the former community hub into a vibrant, mixed-use development, especially with no new highways or rail service planned for the massive housing and commercial growth that will occur.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Maryland State Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr, and County Councilmembers, including Marilyn Balcombe, Sidney Katz, Dawn Luedtke, and Laurie-Anne Sayles, joined Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Director Chris Conklin, WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments Principal Kevin Rogers, and other community leaders to celebrate the milestone.

The redevelopment is a joint effort between Montgomery County and WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments. WRS is set to redevelop the nearly 100-acre site into a dynamic mixed-use community featuring residential housing, entertainment, shopping, and public gathering spaces.

“Lakeforest Mall was a place where people came together for decades, and this redevelopment gives us a chance to reimagine this site,” Elrich said Monday. “Transportation, housing, and economic development are connected, and this project reflects that.”

The now-closed Lakeforest Mall holds a special place in the community, having served as the County's largest mall for a time and a well-known gathering spot for 45 years since its opening in 1978. Greed on the part of the mall's final owner, and chronic failure by County leaders to address violent crime and gang activity at the mall resulted in the disgraceful demolition of the once-luxurious shopping mecca now underway at the site.

The first phase of the agreement focuses on site preparation for the new transit center. WRS will prepare nearly two acres of land, which includes filling in a drainage pond and grading the site to make it build-ready. This initial phase is expected to take about one year.

Following the completion of site preparation, MCDOT will purchase the land from WRS and commence construction on the new transit center itself.

The new transit center will continue to serve the eight existing Ride On bus routes currently using the Lakeforest Transit Center. Crucially, it is also being designed with scalability to accommodate the future MD 355 Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. "The new transit center will support the nearly 2,000 riders per day who rely on the current Lakeforest Transit Center, as well as create capacity to accommodate the planned Flash Bus Rapid Transit corridor along MD 355 and any future developments," Conklin said.

Lakeforest Mall signs hit auction block in Gaithersburg

The large Lakeforest Mall entrance signs could be yours, if you make the winning bid in an upcoming online auction. Capital Online Auctions is handling the event. Winners have to uninstall the signs themselves, and will have to provide proof of insurance for the "uninstallers." There appear to be six signs available in total, according to the online listing. The auction was first reported by The MoCo Show.

Did you bake the Lakeforest Mall 10th Anniversary Cake Mix?

A 10th Anniversary celebration of the September 12, 1978 opening of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg was held in 1988. Along with a $10,000 gift certificate giveaway, a balloon drop, and even a trio of mimes, the then-safe-and-upscale mall had another special take-home prize for attendees. A pyramid of boxes was stacked outside of Johnston & Murphy. Each one was filled with "our special anniversary cake mix." Those upon whom this gift was bestowed were exhorted to "bake the cake and share it with your family and friends." 

Now that corporate greed and the Montgomery County cartel's anti-business, pro-crime policies have led to the closure of the once-popular shopping and leisure destination, we can only look back at a simpler and better time with nostalgia. Were you one of the lucky few to obtain a box of the cake mix? Did you bake the cake? What did it taste like?

Public hearing on Lakeforest Mall redevelopment agreement tonight in Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg's Mayor and City Council will hold a public hearing tonight, Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM, at 16 S. Summit Avenue, regarding the Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) for Lakeforest Redevelopment, LLC. This is in relation to the redevelopment of the Lakeforest Mall site. A DRRA provides for "the creation of an agreement that can provide certainty and stability to developers, while allowing the City to negotiate enhanced public benefits in return," the City said in a statement. "A DRRA aims to enhance development flexibility, innovation, and quality, while ensuring the protection of public interests, health, safety, and welfare."

Break-in at shuttered Lakeforest Mall

It was inevitable, and it's almost certainly not the last time it will happen. Someone tried to get inside the shuttered Lakeforest Mall at 701 Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg on Wednesday afternoon. Gaithersburg City police responded to the mall property at 1:35 PM. Officers arriving at the scene found evidence of forced entry. Lakeforest Mall permanently closed March 31. The mall is completely vacant, but an auction of its remaining contents is being held next month.

New mall property owner WRS, Inc. Real Estate Investments had planned to demolish the mall next year, after it had full approvals and permits from the City of Gaithersburg to move forward with its redevelopment plans for housing, shops and restaurants on the site. The company's sensible reasoning was that it could reopen the dead mall as a Plan B, should its proposal be blocked or suddenly not be viable due to a market downturn. 

However, WRS recently petitioned the City for assurances of approval that would allow it to begin demolition sooner. In addition to thrillseekers and vagrants who break into abandoned properties, there is a virtual cottage industry of urbex explorers who upload videos of their trespassing exploits, and Lakeforest is a tempting target for dead mall explorers.

Lakeforest Mall auction items revealed

The remaining contents of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg are being auctioned off, and now the items up for bid have been revealed by Capitol Online Auctions. They include a Chevy Silverado pickup truck with a Lakeforest Mall logo on the door, probably the next best thing to a DeLorean as time travel vehicles go. It still runs, and COA says you are welcome to have your mechanic check it out before bidding. The snowplow that goes with it is also up for grabs, if you want to imagine yourself clearing the parking aisles during a ferocious holiday-shopping-season blizzard.

There's a canoe from the food court. The Amongo candy machine. The children's play area with equipment. More mall holiday decorations and trees than you probably have room for.

Several public art pieces from inside the mall are on the block, as well. Birds from the mall's indoor "sky," a leaf chandelier from the food court, leaf-themed paintings and sculptures, and even the "Cafes in the Forest" signs could soon be adorning your Lakeforest Mall-themed mansion.

OK, now let's get serious: The Lakeforest Mall directory signs. Entire kiosks. A giant bear looking for a new home. Unfortunately, it seems that the most-desirable tenant signs have already been removed from the premises, but some of the more mom-and-pop business names are available.

All told, there are twelve pages and over a thousand individual items available in the auction catalog, many in lots. Please note that the auction has moved from late June to early July. The preview date is Wednesday, July 5, 2023. The auction begins closing online the next day. Removal dates are July 10-14.

Photos courtesy Capitol Online Auctions

Lakeforest Mall owner would like to demolish the mall sooner than expected

The now-shuttered Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg was not expected to be demolished until next year. But owner WRS Realty is now seeking to bring the building down much sooner. The rationale for waiting until 2024 was that the company would retain the fallback plan of reopening the mall, should the City of Gaithersburg not approve its plan to redevelop the site with thousands of residential units, along with new restaurants and retail. 

WRS Realty now says it would raze the mall sooner if it could enter a binding contract with the City, that provides a guaranteed right to redevelop the property, the Washington Business Journal reported this afternoon. If the City agrees, reporter Daniel J. Sernovitz wrote, it could speed up delivery of the new development by two years. The new plan by WRS Realty may explain why an auction of the mall's contents is now scheduled for next month. If WRS Realty were to reopen the mall, it would have to replace some amount of that stuff to do so.

Lakeforest Mall contents to be auctioned off next month

Lakeforest Mall fans will have one last chance to grab a piece of memorabilia from their nostalgic past next month. After closing on March 31, the Gaithersburg mall was quickly boarded up and fenced off. Beyond security concerns, one reason for that was to preserve the remaining contents inside for future sale. That future is now set for June 21-30, 2023, when an auction of those contents will take place. 

The auction will include "furniture, fixtures and equipment from dozens of stores, restaurants [and] common areas" of the mall, according to the auction listing. June 21 will be the preview date, when all items being auctioned off will be displayed on the auction page. The auction will then close beginning on June 22. Winners will pick up their items from the mall between June 26 and June 30.

The final days of Lakeforest Mall, closing March 31, 2023 (Video + Photos)

The end is nigh for Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg. Opened as a grand shopping and entertainment destination with distinctive architecture on September 12, 1978, the mall was hugely popular through the end of the 1990s. But then, a succession of greedy owners conspired with the sugar baby corrupt politicians they controlled in Montgomery County to run the successful mall into the ground. 

The mall's signature fountain and skating rink were removed, and local elected officials intentionally allowed crime to spiral out of control. Predictably, crowds began to thin, and quality tenants began to move out. 

The mall will close March 31, 2023, and will be demolished in 2024. It will be replaced with a massive housing development that will bring thousands of new residents to a property that has no rapid transit station, and no new highways planned, a traffic disaster in the making. Of course, the same political machine that helped run down the mall is approving that redevelopment.

Let's take a last look around inside Lakeforest Mall, where remaining anchor tenant Macy's was in its final hours before closing for good. We'll ride the glass elevator, and the escalators. You'll see some ghosts from the mall's past, including JCPenney, Sbarro, Ruby Tuesday and Sears. 

You'll also see that this is another example of crony capitalism gone utterly mad, with a perfectly-good mall building being torn down long before its time, with all of the waste and environmental harm such greedy demolitions generate. The new development won't have retail of even half the quality the mall did, if the tenant rosters of other post-Great-Recession developments north of Rockville are any guide. Here's a final look at the breathtaking architecture, thought-provoking art installations, inspiring aesthetics, and the grand lines and designs that represent all that is good in America and western civilization. Lakeforest Forever!