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The developer of the Villages of Urbana has submitted a proposal to county planners that could allow for the construction of a 120-store outlet center in southern Frederick County.

However, it will probably be at least two years before residents begin to see dirt moving on this project, if it is approved at all, said Tom Natelli.

Natelli, president of Natelli Communities, the developer of the Villages of Urbana, said that the 212 acres of land along Interstate 270 near Md. Route 80 has always been intended to be home to a shopping center and about 1.2 million square feet of office buildings.

According to his most recent proposal, the office buildings will still take up a majority of the acreage, but Natelli is looking to reduce the office space so he can increase the 515,000 square feet of approved retail space to 593,700 square feet.

He said this would allow him to build the outlet center to his specifications.

Though there had been plans to construct an outlet center for more than 10 years on the parcel, the market has not always been there for it, according to Natelli. In 1998, when the property was first zoned for mixed office and commercial use, outlet centers in Hagerstown and Leesburg pre-empted construction.

According to Natelli, today's market shows that outlet centers are becoming more profitable and popular.

He submitted his proposal on Aug. 20.

Jim Gugel, a county planner, said Natelli's proposal is a change to pre-existing approval for a business complex on the property. Gugel said that in order for the change to be approved, the proposal would have to go before the Frederick County Planning Commission and the Frederick Board of County Commissioners for public hearings. He said it would typically take six to nine months for such a proposal to go through the public hearings.

If both boards approve the change, Natelli would have to present site plans to the Division of Permitting and Development Review, which depending on what questions come up, would take between 12 to 18 months, Natelli said.

Gugel said Natelli's application was still under review as of Tuesday afternoon, and that its first hearing date with the Planning Commission had not been set.

Natelli is proposing to not only change the square footage of retail space in the proposed development; he would also change the mix of retail uses allowed under the original approval.

For example, the 515,000 square feet of retail originally allowed for 90,000 square feet of space for entertainment. Natelli said this space would have been used to build a movie theater.

However, after studying the market, the theater proved to be infeasible because it would compete with Regal Westview Stadium 16 Cinemas, located on Buckeystown Pike in Frederick, less than 10 miles away.

With the theater idea omitted from the plan, there would be more space for retail, he said.

Natelli has also changed the company with which he plans to develop the outlets.

In March, Natelli said that he was corresponding with Chelsea Property Group, a division of Simon Property Group and the developer of the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets, to build the center.

However, after further research, Natelli has decided to go with Baltimore-based Prime Outlets to develop the center. He said that while both companies would have done a good job developing the center, he was more comfortable working with Prime Outlets.

"I was very impressed with both of them," Natelli said, "but at the end of the day, Prime was a better fit to develop the project with the level of detail we felt was appropriate." Natelli said that concept of the shopping center was to "create a sense of place" with the Urbana community, and the buildings would be designed to reflect the historic character of the area.

He said the design would also emphasize pedestrian traffic, and he intends the exterior of the buildings to look like an old town, with brick fronts and porches. The outlets will be designed by Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas-based architects, David M. Schwarz Architectural Services.