Nearby VA and MD dealers to see land use changes

Nearby VA and MD dealers to see land use changes

The owners of White Flint Mall, the Rockville, MD shopping destination, have and ” over the next 25 years ” replace it with an outdoor mix of housing, new shops, offices and park space.

Springfield Mall, in Springfield, VA envisions a similar remake. The developer there has proposed replacing the 2.1 million-square-foot mall with an 80-acre town center that would ultimately have more than 2,000 housing units, multiple office buildings and a hotel.

The announcements regarding the two malls follow on the heels of an earlier proposal by Somera Capital Management of Santa Barbara, CA, to transform Laurel Mall into a town center with new housing and retail. Those plans, however, have been stalled by the recession.

The changes have particular importance for dealers near the malls as each is expected to bring a minimum of 2,500 new residents to their respective areas.

The White Flint plans call for 5.2 million square feet, including 1 million square feet of offices in three buildings along Rockville Pike, 1 million square feet of retail, 2,500 residential units and a 300-room hotel. The current three-level mall is about 800,000 square feet.

There is also reserved space for the construction of a new elementary school, and a plan to build a public park, part of 13.1 acres of open space on the property.

Its not going to be a mall, said Michael Cohen, an architect with Boston-based Elkus Manfredi hired by the developers. Its going to be more of a town, in a way. So youre not making a mall, youre making a town, a community.

The proposal, which requires county approvals, coincides with the new Montgomery County White Flint plan passed earlier this year.