MoCo’s Lakeforest Transit Center to undergo redevelopment

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Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich recently joined state and county elected officials, transportation officials and community leaders for a ceremony marking the initial phase of a partnership to redevelop and relocate Lakeforest Transit Center in Gaithersburg.

The transit center will be renovated at the Lakeforest Mall site – once a highly frequented attraction in the county. Redevelopment plans entail transforming the closed Lakeforest Mall into a mixed-use development that will support residential housing, entertainment, shopping and public gathering spaces, a county release says. 

WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments is partnering with the county for the redevelopment project. The commercial real estate agency plans to prepare about two acres of land for construction, including filling in a drainage pond and grading the site, which is under the first phase of the agreement. 

“Lakeforest Mall was a place where people came together for decades, and this redevelopment gives us a chance to reimagine this site,” Elrich said. 

“Building this transit center is critical to this redevelopment process and our forthcoming [Bus Rapid Transit] system. Thousands of people depend on transit in this part of the County, and this partnership ensures they will have safe, convenient access as the area grows. Transportation, housing, and economic development are connected, and this project reflects that.”

The first phase of the transit center redevelopment is expected to take a year, county officials confirmed. Upon project completion, MCDOT will purchase the land from WRS and commence construction on the transit center. 

Open from 1978 to 2023, Lakeforest Mall was the largest mall in Montgomery County at one point.

“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,”Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin said. 

“We are building this transit center with scalability in mind as more residents seek transportation options that reduce reliance on cars.”