Cousins Properties Inc. of Atlanta, Simon Property Group of Indianapolis and North American Properties of Cincinnati previously had planned to build separate malls, each totaling about one million sf. The 1.9-million-sf Mall of Georgia in Gwinnett County is the largest in the state.

Now, the developers confirm in a published report, they will pool their expertise and decide shortly which site is best for what area retail brokers estimate could be at least a 1.2-million-sf mall with a development cost of about $120 million or a minimum $100 per sf hard construction cost.

Regardless of the site, the project will take about five years to surface, brokers tell GlobeSt.com. Cousins is looking at the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and Jodeco Road where the REIT holds an option on the dirt. Simon and North American had jointly scouted 150 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 75 and GA 20, about 10 miles south of the Cousins tract.

Meanwhile, a fourth national developer--CBL & Associates Properties of Chatanooga, TN--plans a separate mall in Henry County, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. CBL is banking on the state building a proposed new $20 million interchange at Bethlehem Road to make its project workable, brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

Seven I-75 interchanges already serve the county which has experienced a 103% population growth in the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Census. Henry County has 140,000 permanent residents.

Noting the feverish interest among retail developers, elected officials in Henry County are spending $35,000 on a study to determine the best location for a convention or conference center whose total development cost could top $100 million, area construction industry estimators familiar with comparable projects, tell GlobeSt.com. The study is expected to be completed in July.

Henry County commissioners want the planned convention center to be near the regional mall being planned by the three developers.