Mustafa, who acquired two similar-sized lots last year for little more than $20,000, will pay the city the appraised value of $8,900 for 737 W. 103rd St. The sale, endorsed recently by the community development commission, will not close until Mustafa negotiates the purchase of 735 W. 103rd St. from a private owner, according to the department of planning and development. Construction of the shopping strip is expected to take a year.

Department of planning and development project manager Edward Lewis says Mustafa has generated interest in his proposed center from restaurateurs, cell phone companies and laundry operators. Among operations the city will block are beauty shops and pay-day loan operations, he adds.

The shopping center will generate jobs and help revitalize the area, according to the department of planning and development. Three miles away in Roseland, Crown Commercial Real Estate and Development is slated to redevelop the former Roseland Plaza shopping center at 115th Street and Michigan Avenue with a grocery-anchored center.