The Lakeville city council recently approved an amendment to its comprehensive land use plan that would change the zoning on the 96-acre plot near Interstate 35 and Dakota County 60 to commercial from office park/business. The Metropolitan Council, a Twin Cities regional planning agency, also must review the change, Brazner says. Minneapolis-based Avalon also needs to submit its site plan to the city and do an environment assessment worksheet.

Target has committed to building a 185,000-sf SuperTarget store to anchor the project, Brazner says. Target would buy the parcel of land and build its own store, but Avalon would build the rest of the project, he adds.

Lakeville is one of the area's fastest-growing communities, and its population is expected to double to about 80,000 by 2020, Brazner says.

"We haven't formally begun marketing the project yet, but we have received a lot of unsolicited interest," Brazner says. He anticipates stores such as consumer electronics, fabrics, books and smaller specialty stores.

Although Brazner declines to say how much the project would cost, estimates range from $85 million to $90 million. The project includes a wetland, which would be incorporated into a walking trail. The restaurants would likely face the wetland as well. "While I would not have chosen to have a wetland on the property, we are going to use it to our advantage," Brazner says.

Brazner anticipates site work could begin in July, with an opening of the first phase, including the SuperTarget, in October 2002.