Lakeforest Redevelopment Halted; Mall to be Re-tenanted
In a surprising reversal from redevelopment plans revealed last week, today Lakeforest Mall owners announced a new 30-year lease agreement to re-tenant the existing core building and its connecting anchor stores. The Gaithersburg, Maryland buildings will first undergo extensive interior and exterior renovations, with occupancy expected in late 2024.
The entire mall and surrounding parcels will be leased by the Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a Saudi conglomerate whose main interests are financial services, real estate, tourism and hospitality, media, entertainment, petrochemicals, aviation, and technology.
KHC officials say the Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud Islamic Entertainment Center and Mosque will occupy all 1,035,917 sq. ft of the contiguous building. The 409,447 sq. ft. core structure will be converted into the seventeenth largest mosque in the world by area, and the four anchor buildings will house a diverse range of attractions.
Under the lease KHC pays 2.8 billion in tenant improvements. Exterior renovations include installation of 87-foot-tall minarets atop each of the four anchor stores and a sleek glass and steel facade. Glass domes over the core structure will appear as though made of gold when illuminated from the interior. Inside, the main prayer hall will feature 82 semiprecious jewel-encrusted internal columns, seventeen 24-carat gold-plated Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and the largest carpet in the Western Hemisphere.
With a maximum capacity of 30,000 worshipers, the Al Waleed Mosque will be the largest in North America, three times larger than the Islamic Center of America in Michigan.
The former Sears building is slated to become the Abdulaziz American Dream Indoor Ski and Snowboard Park, featuring 4.1 acres of skiable area, 6,000 tons of snow, three trails, and a terrain park. JC Penney’s will house Ye’s Hip Hop'n Roller Coaster, where riders will experience up to 15 Gs and travel through thirty-three inversions. The attraction features recorded music and appearances from the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
KHC officials say The Lord & Taylor building will be razed “due to certain sensitivities.” It will be replaced by the 38-court Riad Al Solh Pickle Ball Complex. Plans have yet to be announced for the Macy’s building.
The Montgomery County executive's office estimates there are about 12,000 Muslims in the county, roughly 1.2 percent of the county's total population.
Gaithersburg officials say they were caught unaware by the news and a statement will be released soon. “These new plans may meet the needs of an important, growing segment of our community, but man, the city got the rug pulled out from under it,” Gaithersburg Councilmember Hugh Graft told a reporter who broke the news to him.
