Spectrum developer seeks to convert office, commercial space to residential

Mayor & Council also expected to

make final decision on 

Lakeforest Mall master plan

Montgomery County's weak office market and moribund economy may end up sinking more potential office space development in Gaithersburg. A developer at The Spectrum property at the I-270 interchange with Watkins Mill Road is asking the City of Gaithersburg to convert sites approved as office and commercial use to residential apartments.

Under the current approval held by HIP Projects, Inc., the two sites were expected to become a bank branch, and an office building. The revised plan, if approved by city officials, would replace both with a six-story residential building containing 225 units. This would raise the total number of residential units at the Spectrum development to 690 apartments. A planned senior housing development, a police station, and a senior center have yet to be constructed at the Spectrum.

The request will be reviewed by the Mayor and Council at their meeting tonight, August 16, 2021. They are being asked by city staff to direct the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing, and send them back a final decision on the proposal. The Mayor and Council also have the right to retain final decision-making power on the matter for themselves. 

This would be only the latest example of space that could house high-wage jobs being switched to residential, reducing potential commercial and job growth if the stagnant County economy could be turned around in the future. Montgomery County continues to evolve into a bedroom community for the job centers located elsewhere in our region. I've been writing about it for a decade, but even former County Executive Ike Leggett expressed alarm at the trend in 2016.

The Mayor and Council will also review a final resolution on the Lakeforest Mall master plan draft that would allow up to 1600 housing units to be constructed on the site of the current mall. They are expected to vote on that resolution tonight. On the one hand, 1600 units seems like a small amount for a property of that size, if its proximity to MARC rail could be maximized. On the other hand, few expect county and state leaders to ever deliver such long-promised rail upgrades, and the mall is not walking distance to Metro.