The property management company Peterson Cos, or the Peterson Companies, submitted a proposal to the City of Gaithersburg to redevelop Rio by adding up to 257 apartments in place of the existing Kohl’s building and up to 206 units near the Washingtonian Pond, with proposed construction starting in August 2027.
Titled the “Rio Residential Project,” Peterson Cos’ redevelopment plan was proposed a few months ago in May. The plan specifically details the company’s hopes to add four new residential buildings in Rio: building one replacing what is currently Kohl’s with a multi-family apartment building and additional retail space; buildings two and three replacing two sites along the lakefront also with multi-family units; and building four to add stacked townhouses near the “back” of Rio, in between the Sodexo and Leidos office buildings.
Documents on the City of Gaithersburg’s project page for the Rio Residential Project outline exhibits with architectural floor plans, public correspondence and solutions to potential issues that the implementation of this project could cause. According to Exhibit 13, explaining the design guidelines, “these sites replace an existing retail building or are located in existing open spaces and pair them with park design, lake views, and recreational open areas
to create a strong sense of community.”
Sam Copelan is a Planner II for the City of Gaithersburg’s Planning and Code Administration, predominately working as a Community Planner to review proposals and guide applications in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance. Copelan said that this development plan is not finalized, and is only at its early stages. “Right now, the applicant is asking for what’s called Schematic Development Plan (SDP) approval. This is the first step in the City’s site plan review process. It doesn’t give final approval to start construction, but just shows the general layout of the buildings, how big they can be, and how the property might be used. If the City approves this first step, the applicant will then submit a Final Site Plan application, which includes more detailed designs for the buildings, landscaping, and architecture,” Copelan said.
Despite the project being early in its process of approval, community members disapprove of the proposal. Throughout this past summer, Gaithersburg residents have emailed the City’s Planning Committee, expressing concern for “fewer walkable green spaces,” and “an unbearable increase in traffic in an already severely congested area,” according to Exhibit 30. Others have felt that as a whole, the project itself “seemed unnecessary,” and “driven more by commercial interests than by the actual needs of the community,” according to Exhibit 51.
The Rio community is zoned to this school, but with the addition of nearby Crown High School, which is set to open in August 2027 (when proposed construction for this project begins), and over 400 new possible apartments, it is not clear how or even if boundary lines could change. “As part of the Schematic Development Plan application, the applicant will need to demonstrate how this development will meet the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). The City adopted an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance to control and manage growth in an orderly, efficient, cohesive and safe manner consistent with the economic and land use planning policies of the City and for the health, safety and welfare of the public. The Ordinance provides a mechanism and standards to evaluate and ensure that traffic, school, sewer, water, and fire protection facilities are adequate. One of the items is school impacts from development,” Copelan said.
This school year has posed an incredible amount of change in the county, and the increase in commercial development that could affect MCPS schools is no exception. “[The development] is not surprising, especially because there’s the new school coming in, leading to an influx of more students. I think it’s still kind of sad and a little disappointing that Rio is changing so much, especially because I feel like the store and environment should be kept for newer generations to enjoy,” senior Stephanie Yang, who has lived near Rio for most of her life, said.
Although this project has not been approved, the development plan signifies the rapid change residents could expect in the county in the upcoming years. “Change always comes with life; it’s going to happen either way so if we could just find a silver lining and learn to embrace it, I think that’s the best way to face these housing changes,” Yang said.
The best way to stay up to date with project information is the Rio Residential project webpage. There are no public hearings scheduled for this project, but when they are, all information will be posted on the webpage.
