From the City’s website:

City Considers Fall Planning Charrette for Montgomery County Fairgrounds Property
Posted 3/28/2008

Members of the Montgomery County Agricultural Center Board of Directors have approached the City of Gaithersburg about possible rezoning considerations for their 62-acre property bordered by Chestnut Street, Perry Parkway and North Frederick Avenue. This property has been privately owned by the Agricultural Center since 1949, and the Board is considering their options as they explore the possibility of relocating the fair elsewhere in Montgomery County.

The prime location and historical significance of this property calls for a broad, community-wide discussion of its potential use. City officials are recommending that City staff coordinate a planning charrette, to be held some time in the Fall of 2008. Used successfully throughout the City for past development opportunities such as the Kentlands and Crown Farm, charrettes, or “planning exercises,” bring together City officials and staff, key stakeholders, the regional community and design teams in a transparent process of discovery and problem-solving. While the Fairgrounds planning consultant has developed a preliminary concept plan that envisions a town center, City officials stress that the charrette will be an open planning exercise with no preconceived notions about the appropriate future of the property. The outcome of the charrette will be a proposed vision for the study area, which can then be incorporated into the City’s Master Plan.

For more information please contact Greg Ossont, Director of Planning and Code Administration, at 301-258-6330.

Also, see my previous posts on this issue. In addtion, this Gazette article by Patricia M. Murret has some interesting background, including a hint about where the fairgrounds might move:

While nothing is final, a possible site for a new fairgrounds has been identified: the 84-acre Linthicum farm located on West Old Baltimore Road in Boyds, Svrcek said.

The grain and livestock farm, near the former Comsat site, is flanked by Interstate 270 and the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway.

Gene Walker, president of the fair board, named the Linthicum farm as a possible new location for the fair during the March 18 meeting. Charlie Linthicum was an original signer of the agricultural center’s articles of incorporation in 1949.

The property has access to water, natural gas, electricity and sewer and plenty of room for parking; still, fair officials insist nothing is a done deal.