In a statement made to the Save Our Springs Alliance, which is against the project, Gary Nay, a vice president of Cincinnati-based Federated, said that none of its stores is interested in the project and had not had discussions about it.

Federated owns Macy's and Bloomingdale's, two of the high-end department stores that developer Chris Milam had targeted for the open-air center. Previously, the May Co., which owns Foley's and Lord & Taylor, told the alliance it would not participate in the shopping center.

People close to the project says it is moving along as originally anticipated. Milam's company, Austin-based Milam International Development Management Corp., and Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. are trying to develop the project on 114 acres in Bee Cave.

The SOS Alliance is campaigning against the development saying it would bring sprawl to an environmentally sensitive area. The alliance has asked its members and others to contact retailers and urge them to stay away from the project.

Under the terms of the mall's zoning agreement with the Village of Bee Cave, the project will get up to $25 million in sales tax abatements over 20 years if it signs two high-end stores. If Neiman Marcus is one of those retailers, the tax break goes up to $30 million. Those breaks are in effect only if development occurs, say elected officials.

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