out with nine food businesses, with roughly half a dozen food eateries already in the mall prior to the food court. In 2003, Simon Property Group purchased the mall. On May 28, 2006, Macy's replaced Hecht's, as the latter had begun to be purchased by Macy's nationwide. Originally developed, owned and operated by Taubman Centers, the mall has been owned and managed by the Simon Property Group since 2007, when it purchased former owner and manager Mills Corporation. The company defaulted on its mortgage in 2011 and the mall was put up for sale after. 2010s In 2012, the mall took in $14,680,000 in net income. In 2013, Five Mile Capital Partners hired real estate developer Hines to "map out a long-term plan for Lakeforest". A brand new children's play area opened on the ground floor infront of the then JCPenney on July 30, 2013, with the original children's play area called Professor Frog's Courtyard and nearby fountain in the center court were removed and tiled over in August 2013. In 2016, the mall took in $6,180,000 in net income. On August 22, 2017, Gaithersburg's Lakeforest Mall was sold at auction for $19.1 million, a fraction of the $100 million price tag from 2012. The auction came after the mall's owner, Five Mile Capital, went into foreclosure. As of August 2017, the mall's general manager is Paul DeMarco. The Annapolis-based Petrie Richardson Ventures has Lakeforest under contract, which would not include the anchor stores in a potential purchase, but as of February 2018 the deal has not been closed. On February 28, 2019 it was announced that JCPenney would be closing as part of a plan to close 27 stores in the U.S.; the store closed on July 5, 2019. On June 5, 2019, Gaithersburg City Councilmember, Ryan Spiegel, tweeted that Lord & Taylor was planning to close its Lakeforest Mall location on September 15, 2019. This would leave Macy's and Sears as the only anchor stores left open before any redevelopment, as publicly desired by the Gaithersburg municipal government, can be considered. The store closed on September 15, 2019 as scheduled. In 2019, WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments purchased the mall from U.S. Bank, which had bought it in 2018. WRS Inc. is planning to redevelop the entire 100 acres. On August 31, 2019 it was announced that Sears would be closing its location at Lakeforest Mall as part