Paris Rutherford, president of the Dallas-based development group, tells GlobeSt.com that site work will get under way in January 2009, with Icon Midtown slated to come on line two years later. In a press release, he says the goal is to create the city's "first family-friendly, mixed-use walking district." Icon Midtown will have about 600 feet of frontage along Interstate 635's access road.

"The location and timing of this development sets the stage for the entire region and it will serve as a catalyst for forward-thinking redevelopment opportunities in the area," Chris Buehler, vice chairman of the city's planning commission, says in a press release.

Additional development details will be laid out in a follow-up article. However in the press release, the development breakdown is 525,000 sf of upscale boutique shops, theater and restaurants; 50,000-sf food district, including a cooking school with TV studio, Italian grocery and boutique food shops; 715,000-sf office tower, pledged to be LEED certified; 500 residential units and a boutique hotel. Rutherford says preleasing is pushing the 40% mark to jump-start the development on time.