Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

LEE COUNTY, FL-CBL & Associates joins the Richard E. Jacobs Group as a 50-50 joint-venture partner in the development of the open-air 1.7-million-sf Gulf Coast Town Center development. The retail project, currently under construction, will cost between $150 million and $180 million to build, a CBL spokeswoman told GSR.

Bass Pro Shops, Belk, J.C. Penney, Regal Cinemas and Target are the development's current committed anchors, but the developers say they expect to sign five more. The first phase of Gulf Coast is scheduled to open in the fall and the entire center will open the following fall. CBL will lease and manage the center.

Gulf Coast is going up in an area with a lot of recent retail development. About 10 miles away in Estero, Simon Property Group is building the 1.2-million-sf, open-air Town Center at Coconut Point, which is scheduled to open in phases this year.