The project's leasing team is targeting fashion-forward men's, women's, teen and children's retailers, as well as jewelry, shoes, fashion accessories, housewares, gourmet food tenants and a variety of cafes, bistros and restaurants. The project will also include a "specialty" six-screen cinema. The developer is Atco Properties & Management Inc.

The specialty retail campus, which will feature a blend of upscale shops, dining and entertainment destinations surrounding a two-acre, open-air landscaped park with a 1,400-car parking garage, is slated to open in 2005.

Retail is gaining strength across the board. In fact, retail rents rose in most major US Downtown markets over the last year, according to the global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The firm reported that consumer demand fueled rent increases in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and West Palm Beach, FL. Real spending grew at an annual rate of 1.4% from mid-year 2002 to mid-year 2003. This marks the first economic downturn since 1949 that saw no decline in spending for any quarter, according to C&W.