The 27-year-old development firm, headed by Jorge M. Perez, has shown preliminary site plans to neighborhood groups but hasn't yet acquired the land for the project from Noble Properties, sources familiar with the undertaking tell GlobeSt.com. The development site lies between East Paces Ferry and Roxboro roads, near Simon Properties' 1.66-million-sf Lenox Square mall.

Related officials won't be setting a tentative ground-breaking date until all of the regional and local approvals have been made, sources in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com. The developer would like to have the project operating by 2008, according to construction area sources.

Perez's office couldn't be reached by GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn the estimated development cost of the project. However, area general contractors who have worked on comparable projects say Cityplace will have an estimated hard construction cost of $250 million to $300 million.