$1.2B DC-Area Mixed-Use Redevelopment Breaks Ground
Demolition of the former mall is underway.
WRS Inc. has broken ground on the Lakeforest Redevelopment, a transformation of the Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Md., into a 100-acre mixed-use community. WRS is partnering with Potomac Housing Development and NVR to deliver 1,600 residential units to the site, consisting of a mix of for-sale residences, rental apartments and workforce housing.
The redevelopment represents a $1.2 billion effort that will come with 470,000 square feet of retail and dining space, in addition to 35 acres of green space.
Potomac Housing Development will be constructing 250 workforce housing units at Lakeforest, while WRS will be working with an unnamed partner to build an additional 600 apartments. NVR is leading the development of approximately 600 for-sale homes. Housing types across Lakeforest will include apartment buildings, townhomes and condominiums. Earlier plans estimate that the residential portion will take five to six years to complete.
From a mall to multifamily apartments
The project is replacing 1.1 million square feet of vacant retail space following the Lakeforest Mall’s closure in 2023.
WRS purchased the entire site across multiple transactions between 2019 and 2022 valued at $75 million. According to Yardi Matrix, the company purchased the mall itself in 2019 for $22.5 million.
The master plan divides the site into eight blocks to be completed in multiple phases. Demolition of the former mall is underway, along with road network and storm drainage improvements. Once this is completed, vertical construction on the first retail and residential blocks will begin.
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The redevelopment will also include outdoor public spaces such as a boardwalk around the ponds, gathering plazas and expanded pedestrian and bike networks.
The former mall’s address was 701 Russell Ave. in Gaithersburg. The construction site is close to interstates 270 and 370, about 24 miles outside of D.C. The plan will relocate and expand the Lakeforest Transit Center within the development through a partnership with Montgomery County. Once the new transit station is completed, visitors and residents will have access to eight Ride On routes and the new MD 355 Flash Bus Rapid Transit system.
D.C.’s expanding construction pipeline
Construction activity in the Washington, D.C., metro has remained high, according to a February Yardi Matrix report on the city. Over the past year, more than 15,500 units were delivered with an additional 19,943 under construction at the start of 2026.
Last July, Hines, in partnership with Sumitomo Forestry and Chuo-Nittochi Co., acquired a development parcel in Dumfries, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. The project is adding 365 apartments to the larger 2,000-acre master-planned community, Potomac Shores.
In January, Post Brothers received $575 million in funding for The Geneva, an office-to-residential conversion project. The developer is converting two former office buildings into a 530-unit rental community with a $465 million Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy loan from Nuveen Green Capital and a $110 million senior loan from Mavik.
