Gaithersburg Mayor & Council holding public hearing on Rio Lakefront apartment proposal tonight

The Mayor and Council of Gaithersburg will hold a public hearing tonight, January 5, 2026, on the proposal to build up to 500 apartment units at the Rio Lakefront development in Gaithersburg at 7:30 PM. Under the plan, new residential buildings would be constructed on the other side of the development's lake, between the boardwalk and I-270. Public comment submitted to the City has been trending negative toward the proposal. One factor not helping win public support is the generic architecture being shown at this stage, which resembles numerous other recent apartment buildings in many places in our region (what do you call those tacky facade "frames" that are on virtually every new building these days?), and does not mesh well with the existing structures on the opposite side of the lake.

MCPS leases final space at former Leidos site in Gaithersburg

Matan Companies has announced that its 44-acre life science and industrial campus fronting I-270 in Gaithersburg, which consists of two 198,000-square-foot Class A buildings at 700 and 750 Progress Way, is now 100% leased. The final piece was the recent execution of a 161,500 SF lease with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), which has leased 161,500 square feet at 700 Progress Way. MCPS joins existing tenants AstraZeneca (198,000 SF full-building lease at 700 Progress Way, signed December 2023) and Daikin Comfort Technologies Distribution, Inc. (36,145 SF at 750 Progress Way, signed May 2024). Matan's announcement did not specify what MCPS plans to use the space for, or the annual cost of the lease to Montgomery County taxpayers.

“We are extremely proud to have delivered and fully leased this state-of-the-art campus,” Matan Companies Director of Leasing James Matan said in a statement. “The diversity of best-in-class occupants—AstraZeneca in life sciences, Daikin in advanced HVAC distribution, and now Montgomery County Public Schools—demonstrates the incredible flexibility and strategic location of these assets along the I-270 corridor.”

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.

Damascus bank branch to be auctioned off

A former Truist bank branch in the center of Damascus is about to be auctioned off. The building and associated structures are located at 9916 Main Street. This is a prime location for business, or for potential redevelopment as residential or mixed-use, with such redevelopment eagerly sought by the Montgomery County cartel, who have been working overtime to urbanize rural Damascus. They also want to jam as many Democrats as possible into the Republican town, before the U.S. Supreme Court declares their gerrymandered legislative and council district maps illegal. The opening bid is a ridiculously low $175,000, according to the online listing.

Gaithersburg shopping center for sale

Want to own a shopping center in Gaithersburg? Quince Orchard Marketplace at 12215 Darnestown Road is on the market for sale. Comprised of five individual properties, the shopping center is anchored by a Safeway grocery store. Other tenants include CVS Pharmacy, a Sunoco gas station, a Capital One bank branch, and California Tortilla. Beyond the revenue generating possibilities, of course, is the redevelopment potential of the site. The online sale listing does not include the asking price. 

Patient First building for sale in Germantown

You could become Patient First's landlord if you have $5.5 million burning a hole in your pocket. The building containing the urgent care clinic chain's Milestone Shopping Center location at 21044 Frederick Road in Germantown is now for sale. Built in 1997, the pad site structure was renovated for Patient First in 2019. The asking price for the property is $5,523,810, according to the online sale listing, which is significantly above the assessed value of $2,874,200. It's not clear from the listing if any of the value of the property is derived from potential redevelopment rights.

Montgomery County Council rams through ZTA to upzone SFH neighborhoods

The Montgomery County Council took the first major step toward realization of its radical, warmed-over Reaganomics "Thrive 2050" plan yesterday, by approving construction of duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and apartment buildings up to four stories tall on lots currently restricted to single-family homes along multiple commuter corridors. True to its form of recent years, the Council simply blew off community opposition, and a crowded hearing room of angry residents. Taunting the crowd at times, the Council's sense of invincibility was hard to hide in both their microexpressions and tone of voice. The "More Housing N.O.W." zoning text amendment - like Thrive 2050 - had no grassroots support, and overwhelming opposition among residents.

Steamrolling ahead, the Council's willingness to outright lie about the intention of the ZTA was astonishing. From the beginning, they have attempted to sell Thrive and this ZTA as addressing housing affordability issues. Councilmember Andrew Friedson specifically cited middle-income "teachers, firefighters, police officers and nurses" as being able to afford the $2 million duplexes and $1 million apartments that the ZTA will produce. This is nothing more than pure, unadulterated malarkey. Incredibly, the reporter from The Washington Post accepted this farcical statement at face value, declining to fact check Friedson, ask tough follow-up questions, or outright declare Friedson's statements as false, as the paper regularly does for Donald Trump. The Post even used the term "missing middle," which doesn't remotely apply to the multimillion-dollar units that will be constructed under this ZTA. 

Eligible properties (in pink and yellow) in
Aspen Hill, Glenmont, and Wheaton

All this ZTA will do is increase the cost of housing in Montgomery County. If the townhome right next to the parking garage with no backyard at Westbard Square is $1.x million, then the future duplex with half a backyard and half a front yard in Springfield has to go for $2.x million. Now the colonial with the full front yard and backyard and Whitman school district is suddenly $3.x million, and the new-construction McMansion is $4.x million. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Urbanization of the suburbs is the primary goal of the ZTA. For example, the map of eligible properties shows how this ZTA is advancing the plan to urbanize River Road between the D.C. line and the Capital Beltway, which I have warned you about for many years. You can see the many churches, schools, country clubs, and other large properties the Council and their developer sugar daddies imagine will be demolished in the coming years. The speed limit on River Road has already been improperly reduced to 35 MPH, the exact opposite of sound traffic engineering, as the road is designed for speeds up to 55 MPH. Eventually, under the urbanization plan, River Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction, with bus/bike-only lanes seizing the other travel lanes heading east and west. A Purple Line extension to Westbard will be planned to juice density even further. As tall apartment buildings rise along the sides of River Road, the speed limit will drop to 25 MPH. Similar plans are in the works for Georgia Avenue between Olney and downtown Silver Spring, Old Georgetown Road, Veirs Mill Road, Route 29, MD 355, and other major commuter routes countywide.

Here is how each Councilmember voted on the ZTA yesterday. The names under "YES" are the people you will be voting AGAINST on your 2026 ballot, and the names under "NO" are the people you will be voting FOR in the 2026 Democratic primary election.

YES - to approve the ZTA

Gabe Albornoz

Marilyn Balcombe

Natali Fani-Gonzalez

Andrew Friedson

Evan Glass

Dawn Luedtke

Laurie-Anne Sayles

Kate Stewart

NO - to oppose the ZTA

Will Jawando

Sidney Katz

Kristin Mink

Margarita Bar & Grill property for sale in Germantown

You could become Margarita Bar & Grill's landlord, if you purchase the 1.026-acre property the popular Mexican restaurant is situated on in Germantown. The lot at 19201 Frederick Road (MD 355) includes the 3000-square-foot restaurant building and a 70-space parking lot, along with high visibility on one of Maryland's busiest commuter routes. Constructed in 1940, the building was previously home to Captain Mori's and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, until Margarita Bar & Grill moved in almost two years ago. The asking price for the property is $6,500,000, according to the online listing.

Vine Alley, Brews & Barrels spaces marketed for lease at Kentlands Market Square

Kimco Realty is marketing the spaces currently occupied by Vine Alley and Brews & Barrels at Kentlands Market Square in Gaithersburg as "available" for lease. Both spaces have a notation that parties interested in leasing either storefront "do not disturb" the current tenants, who are still open for business. In addition, both businesses have been removed from the tenant roster in Kimco leasing materials for the property. Brews & Barrels opened at 625 Center Point Way in 2020, and Vine Alley opened two years later at 114 Market Street.

Former Greene Turtle building for sale in Germantown

The former Greene Turtle building at 19961 Century Boulevard in Germantown is for sale. D1 Seafood Buffet was the most recent tenant. The building is being marketed as a turnkey restaurant opportunity, but the new owner could simply function as the landlord, and lease it out to a restaurateur. There is excellent transit access at this location, as it is right by the Germantown Transit Center and its bus stops. The asking price is $3.5 million, according to the online listing.

You could be 7-Eleven's landlord in Germantown

If you have $4 million burning a hole in your pocket, you could take a Big Bite out of Germantown real estate. The land underneath the 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station at 12861 Clopper Road has hit the market for sale. You would become the landlord for 7-Eleven under this triple net lease (NNN) arrangement. The online sale listing offers some interesting facts about this 7-Eleven, such as its status in the 91st-percentile of customer traffic for the brand among all 7-Eleven stores in the United States, that 321,000 customers have patronized this 7-Eleven in the last 12 months, and that the store has about 5.5 years left on its current lease.

Regal Cinemas Germantown building for sale

You could own your very own cineplex in Montgomery County. CBRE is now marketing the vacant Regal Cinemas at 20000 Century Boulevard in Germantown for sale. While the signage posted on the theater building is pushing a retail use, the online sale listing notes that the 14-screen cineplex inside remains intact. That means this could be essentially a turnkey operation to reopen the theater for a smart cineplex chain, or a wealthy movie buff. Financing is being offered on the listing page, but the asking price for the property - which includes a large surface parking lot - is not provided. Good luck, and until next time, the balcony is closed!

Montgomery County Council seeks new $20K+ demolition tax on teardowns for new homes

Housing prices are out-of-this-world in Montgomery County, but leave it to the radical Montgomery County Council to raise them even further. Councilmembers Kristin Mink (D - District 5) and Will Jawando (D - At-Large) are sponsoring a bill that would impose a "demolition tax" when a home is torn down, or even partially-demolished. The new excise tax would begin at $20,000, and then rise in future years, as the tax will be linked to the Consumer Price Index as of July 1 each year. As anyone who understands basic economics knows, the $20,000+ amount will be fully passed on to the homebuyer purchasing the new house, or the homeowner investing in the new home or renovation. It's shocking the Council would deliberately impose a massive increase in home prices like this.

In true Communist fashion, the money the Council steals from struggling homebuyers via the new tax will be shifted into the Montgomery County Housing Production Fund to finance "affordable" housing projects. Comrade, er, Councilmember Evan Glass (D - At Large) proposed a similar demolition tax in 2019, but it failed to pass that year. A public hearing on Bill 5-25 has been tentatively scheduled for March 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM at the County Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville.

New Maryland regulation will raise cost of buying a home, agency warns

A new directive issued by the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation last month will raise the cost of buying a home, and make financing harder to obtain, credit rating agency KBRA warned yesterday. The January 10, 2025 licensing rule update requires mortgage trusts and their assignees to obtain licenses under Maryland’s Installment Loan Licensing Law and Mortgage Lender Law. MOFR clarified that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, all other federal, state, and local governmental loan purchase programs, as well as any trusts created by these entities, are exempt from the rule. However, as KBRA noted, $3.7 billion in Maryland loan balances are currently financed by the U.S. non-Agency securitization market.

"Non-agency" means private mortgage securities not backed by the aforementioned government and quasi-government agencies or entities. KBRA said the new licensing requirement will likely reduce the number of financing sources available to homebuyers in Maryland. For those who can still obtain financing, KBRA warned, the reduced competition and higher licensing costs will be passed on to homebuyers in the form of higher monthly payments. A new Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found the already-high cost of housing is now the top concern of Maryland voters.

RealPage rent collusion scandal spreads to Maryland

Word of landlords allegedly using RealPage software to collude with competitors to fix rent prices elsewhere in the region led many to wonder if the gimmick had any role in Montgomery County's skyrocketing apartment rents. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown now suggests it does, and has filed suit against the firm and several prominent landlords. Despite the openings of many new apartment buildings across the county, rents have only continued to rise amidst all of the new "competition." This violates the basic laws of supply and demand, and Brown says the Realpage software gave landlords a loophole to make collusion possible, by having the company fix the rents across the board.

“RealPage and the named landlords worked together to raise the cost of their apartments, making it hard for Maryland renters to put a roof over their heads,” Brown said in a statement. “Our Office is committed to holding landlords accountable so Marylanders can afford their rent.”

The firms Brown is accusing of using RealPage for the purpose of "colluding to illegally raise rents" for Maryland apartment dwellers are Morgan Properties Management Company, LLC; Bozzuto Management Company; Greystar Management Services, LLC; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; UDR, Inc.; and Highmark Residential, LLC. Brown is seeking monetary damages for renters who were allegedly gouged by the use of RealPage, monetary damages for the State of Maryland, cessation of the alleged use of RealPage to fix apartment rents, and the appointment of a corporate monitor to ensure compliance by RealPage and the accused firms.

Historic Clarksburg buildings for sale

Two historic buildings in Clarksburg are now on the market for sale. The former Webb's Store, built in 1897 at 26506 Clarksburg Road, and the home the store's founder built next door in 1899, can be yours for a combined price of $549,000. Both are being sold as-is, and need significant work. Because neither is on the National Register of Historic Places, the online listing suggests that redevelopment of the site is possible, but advises potential buyers to do their research to confirm this.

Clarksburg apartment building for sale

An apartment building constructed only four years ago in Clarksburg is already on the market. Axiom at Cabin Branch, a stack-and-pack style mid-rise development, has 272 units. It has luxury amenities and is in a prime location adjacent to the Clarksburg Premium Outlets mall, as well as I-270. The asking price for the property is not provided in the online listing, which is being handled by Berkadia.

Gaithersburg structure built in 1899 marketed as redevelopment opportunity

403 E. Diamond Avenue in Olde Towne Gaithersburg is a retail property built in 1899 that resembles a house. At first glance, it appears to be a historic preservation opportunity. But it turns out that the structure has been deemed not historic, and has approvals for demolition from both the City of Gaithersburg and CSX. 

The property, which includes room for up to 20 parking spaces, is being marketed as a teardown redevelopment opportunity in a prime location near the historic train station and MARC commuter rail. KW Commercial has listed the property with an asking price of $820,000. Prospective buyers are warned not to enter the building. "Entry is at your own risk due to safety concerns," the listing advises. It appears that a previous plan to redevelop the site by Finecraft Contractors has fallen through, creating a opportunity for someone else.

Perrywood Apartments for sale in Damascus

The Perrywood Apartments are now available for sale at 26040-26050 Woodfield Road in Damascus. Built in 1958 and renovated in 2021, the complex is "fully-occupied by voucher tenants." The asking price for the Perrywood complex is $2,266,300. According to the online listing, the reason for the sale is "foreclosure" and this is a "distress sale."

Another piece of historic Olde Towne Gaithersburg hits the market

Another historic corner of Olde Towne Gaithersburg could be yours for the right price. 300-304 E. Diamond Avenue are now available for sale. Asking price is $1,690,000, according to the sale listing. 300 E. Diamond was built in 1891, and was initially home to The First National Bank of Gaithersburg. While the building is unquestionably historic, it has not been officially designated for preservation. So, depending upon who buys it and what their plans are, this transaction could significantly change the character of Olde Towne Gaithersburg (you can already see how disastrous that might be by looking at the recently-constructed, generic apartment building at the far right in the photo below - great Caesar's ghost!).