But for the south Lake County city of 16,750 permanent residents, best known for its citrus groves and cattle ranches, the project will be the area's first urban village development, a concept that is growing rapidly throughout the state.

The project is expected to break ground by year end on a four-acre parcel housing the former three-story, 60,000-sf, 68-bed South Lake Hospital complex. The hospital moved in February 2000 to a $33 million, 146-acre site off State Road 50 and has been trying to sell the old building since then.

After numerous offers, the hospital board accepted a $700,000 bid for the old building and an adjacent one-story building from developer Dale Ladd's Highland Real Estate Co. His partners in the project are his brother Darryl; Frank Gammon, vice president, Banyan Construction and Development Co., Clermont; and Judson Stringfellow, a North Carolina developer.

The old hospital building, vacant for two years, was once appraised at $1.7 million or $28.33 per sf. Ladd is buying the old hospital for about $11.66 per sf. About 400 surface parking spaces are planned for Galleria.

Both buildings are expected to be demolished. Renovating the properties for an estimated $1 million was not cost-effective, city hall staffers tell GlobeSt.com. Galleria is expected to generate annual property taxes of about $30,000 to the city and county.

Ladd couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn of a firm ground-breaking date and a projected development cost. But area construction industry estimators tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity the planned 45,000 sf of office will probably be built out at a hard construction cost of $125 per sf or about $5.7 million.

The 24,000 sf of retail may be constructed for about $80 per sf or $1.9 million. The 13,800 sf of restaurants will probably cost about $100 per sf or $1.4 million. And the 9,000 sf of residential lofts with balconies, above the retail, is expected to be built for about $100 per sf or close to $1 million.

The three-story Galleria won't look like a retail plaza or shopping center, city hall staffers say. "The whole idea behind it is to draw foot traffic to the existing Downtown shops and to the new establishments as well," an Orlando independent planner not associated with the project tells GlobeSt.com.

Clermont is 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando and often is called one of Orlando's bedroom communities because Orlando professionals and business owners commute daily from their Clermont homes.

The initial phase of Clermont's first 110,000-sf, $10 million professional office center has been finished across from the landmark Citrus Tower attraction on U.S. 27, four miles from Downtown. The second phase of the four-building project is expected to break ground by year end.