The City of Gaithersburg Planning Commission approved the Amendment to Final Site Plan for the renovation of Kentlands Market Square on Dec. 6, giving owner Kimco Realty the green light on center improvements. These include renovating the theatre to accommodate the new Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas, creating a pedestrian walkway or paseo from the current Persiano Gallery through the building to Market Street, and upgrading façades with natural materials and more transparency,

Greg Reed, Kimco’s vice president of development, said, “The paseo will help Market Street by creating greater access to parking, bringing in new and exciting tenants, bringing a better tenant mix, bringing new eating and dining options, and creating outdoor seating to energize the paseo.” Outdoor seating opportunities will wrap around to the newly named Commerce Square Place on the Persiano Gallery side of the building, incorporating wider sidewalks and landscaping.

“It will just be a very activated and energized space,” said Caren Garfield, Kimco’s director of multi-family development. The paseo will feature a canopy of lights, planters and seating cubes where visitors can socialize.

According to Kimco representatives, the Kentlands Market Square revitalization will include

a paseo with six or seven new tenants, primarily restaurant/retail and possibly in a 60/40 ratio;

a paseo with roll-up doors for outside dining;

the newly named Commerce Square Place on the Persiano Gallery side of the building with an expanded sidewalk and opportunities for outside dining;

the former Largent’s corner restaurant space at Market Street and Center Point Way most likely split into two spaces—one space on the lower level and another space on the upper level;

an expanded theatre footprint with the addition of the former 16 Handles space on Center Point Way and the former dry cleaner’s space on Market Street East, bringing theatre square footage from 30,000 to 34,000;

façade upgrades that will incorporate natural materials and more transparency;

a hold on façade work for the former Potomac Deli and Dress Barn spaces, where renovation will depend on desires of national tenants interested in the spaces; and

events programming for the Kentlands Market Square city-owned park near Peppers and Thai Tanium.

Reed outlined a preliminary timeline. Highlights include

interior demolition of the theatre to start Jan. 1, 2018;

outdoor work on the theatre to begin March/April 2018 and continue spring into summer;

paseo construction to begin spring 2018;

paseo construction to be done November 2018;

Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas to open November 2018;

façade work ongoing for Market Street and most areas of Center Point Way; and

new tenant openings to start spring 2019 and continue into summer 2019.

Reed said that construction will not impact the center very much. Construction staging will take place in the underutilized parking lot near the current Persiano Gallery and theatre.

The community can expect a February/March 2018 announcement of additional tenants for Kentlands Market Square, Reed said. Kimco does not announce tenants until leases are signed, but half a dozen tenants are interested in Market Square, including one for the former Largent’s space, he added.