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Shopping mall aims for 2009 opening

Traffic is an issuefor the project, which may have offices and a hotel.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET, Times Staff Writer
Published September 28, 2007

NRI Equity Inc. paid $24-million for 66 acres of pasture land in June, according to county records. Bayview Properties still owns the remaining land where developers hope to build the 128-acre Southshore Commons project.

By fall 2009, major retailers and a movie theater could be open for business. The project could also include more than 450,000 square feet of office space and 250 hotel rooms.

But before crews break ground, developer Equity Inc. must work with county and regional planners to deal with a major issue: traffic.

"There will be significant impacts to the roadways," said John Meyer, Development of Regional Impact coordinator for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

In the next year, planners from that agency will analyze traffic studies submitted by the developer.

County planners will then hash out a deal with the developer. They could require Equity to shell out millions of dollars for road improvements, such as widening Big Bend Road.

The County Commission will have the final say.

Meanwhile, Equity officials are presenting their plans to possible tenants. The company has not announced any of the stores that could be part of Southshore Commons.

Philip Kirkpatrick, Equity's senior development officer, met with several community groups this month to discuss the project and solicit feedback from nearby residents.

"We're trying our best to make this something that will be a very positive impact to the area, visually, for a sense of community," Kirkpatrick said.

John Evon, who attended Kirkpatrick's meeting with the Apollo Beach Civic Association last week, said residents were excited to see that the proposal includes ideas from the Apollo Beach Community Plan.

"There's a town center. It's going to be really for the community," the 53-year-old salesman said. "It's exactly what we've been talking about."

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 661-2454.

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For more information, go to the Web site www.southshore-commons.com

[Last modified September 27, 2007, 08:29:08]