The companies expect to break ground on Centre Point in May. Ross Glickman, CEO of Chicago-based Urban Retail, says the area's explosive population growth in recent has led to an increased demand for retail. An Urban Retail spokeswoman told GSR that Centre Point will be similar to the town center feel of the open-air portion of the Streets at Southpoint, a hybrid mall in Durham, NC, that the company opened in 2002.

Other developers apparently agree. General Growth Properties and the Pinnacle Group are building Pinnacle Hills Promenade, a 750,000-sf open-air center which will include a two-level, 155,000-sf Dillard's. That center is expected to open next year. The Macerich Co. also owns a regional mall in the area.

This is not Urban Retail's only project in the region. The firm is also part of a team of developers building Branson (MO) Landing, a $300 million mixed-use retail-entertainment center that will feature 190,000 sf.