ORLANDO—Marcus & Millichap just landed a $1 billion deal. M&M will serve as the consultant to sell Kelly Park Crossings, the largest-ever development to be developed in the Orlando suburb of Apopka.

The mixed-use development spans 900 acres and includes housing, a regional mall, offices, a college campus, a hotel, a hospital and medical office space, as well as a 4 million-square foot Merchandise Mart near the $1.6 billion Wekiva Parkway extension, which is the final portion of the Orlando Beltway expansion project.

According to published reports, Chinese businessmen from Zhongshan City, which boasts $34 billion in exports annually, are interested in investing $150 million in the Kelly Park Crossings project. The Chinese investors want to build the 4 million-square foot Asian Merchandise Mart.

The proposal to build a merchandise mart is directly tied to the expansion of the Panama Canal, which should be completed in about two years. Exporters from Asia will see significant cost savings when the Panama Canal expansion is complete by offloading their cargo at the major Florida ports or Miami and Jacksonville. Palmer says Orlando will serve as a distribution center for that cargo.

“The proposed Merchandise Mart is the most exciting part of this project,” Jim Palmer, an Orlando attorney and Republican fundraiser who is leading the investment group that’s selling the project, tells GlobeSt.com. “Wholesalers from around the world would come in for exhibits and conferences to sell their products, which would be a huge boon to the regional and state economy.”

The seller hired Paul Bouldin, a senior associate in M&M’s Tampa office, to lead the charge. Bouldin tells GlobeSt.com, “An investor could become a joint venture development partner and receive a return on the equity placed, with a profit participation in the total project.”

Located at 3434 Kelly Park Rd., Kelly Park Crossings is regional development slated to encompass up to 9.2 million square feet. The property is divided up into four distinct quadrants. When fully developed, Kelly Park Crossings will include a 1.4 million-square foot regional open-air mall, a 400-bed hospital and medical office space, a 500-key hotel, a new campus for Valencia College, an office and industrial park and residential housing that will create a new community at the only interchange along a 14-mile stretch of the Orlando Beltway.

“Governor Rick Scott has done an excellent job of moving the economic drivers of Florida forward, and we are extremely happy with the state and local support it has received,” says Palmer. “Our governor continues to push for job growth and creation throughout the state of Florida. By early estimates, this project should create up to 17,300 jobs, an unbelievable number.”