Once developed the site will include approximately 38.5 acres for retail development and 70 acres for a residential community expected to consist of single-family homes and townhomes. In addition to a regional grocer, the 170,000-sf retail development will include space for small shops and up to six outparcels. The Villa Rica City Council approved rezoning of the site dedicated to retail from industrial to commercial in October.

"The Villa Rica site is primed for future development," says Metro Real Estate Investment Advisors principal and MetroGroup Development partner Mark Gottlieb. "Factors including Villa Rica's projected population growth and increasing household incomes as well as infrastructure improvements are aligning to make this site ideal for future development in this burgeoning west Atlanta suburb."

Approximately 20 acres of the site is dedicated to the proposed Villa Rica Bypass, which will stretch east to west through the development to adjoin with Mirror Lake Road. Construction is expected to begin in 2008.

Since 2000, the region surrounding the Villa Rica site has experienced explosive population growth. The number of households within a five-mile radius has grown 116% and within a 10-mile radius has grown 50%. The total number of households within a five-mile radius is 13,377 and a 10-mile radius in 40,742. The average household income within a five-mile radius is $46,476 and within a 10-mile radius is $54,422.