Borders Books & Music store’s expected exit from the White Flint mall in April could mark the beginning of a much-needed reincarnation of the outdated center. The mall sits in the heart of a major redevelopment effort by Montgomery County to transform the White Flint area into an urban, walkable community with a mix of housing, office and retail replacing parking lots, strip malls and car lots.

But the mall, surrounded by acres of parking lot, hails from an era when retail developments catered to cars and malls were destinations where families spent their Saturday afternoons. Plans have been floated by its owners, Lerner Enterprises and the Tower Cos., to cover up much of the parking area with office and residential buildings along Rockville Pike, but nothing has been submitted to the county.