For Kim Dawson, one of the proudest moments for the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors in 2007 had nothing to do with home sales or burgeoning membership. Dawson, the association president for the year, said the 24-hour home improvement project that Fix-A-Home tackled in late October ranked right up there at the top of the organization's achievements for the year.

"It was a wonderful day," Dawson said, "working side-by-side with fellow Realtors and businesses to make the much-needed home improvements. Many tears of joy and accomplishment were seen that day. That was my proudest moment for the association."

The organization kicked off its first Fix-A-Home project by sprucing up the two-bedroom Prince Street house of Carrboro resident Evelyn Thompson. Christine Khoury, Bill Whitmore and Pat Naegle put together the project and coordinated the effort, which drew real estate agents who rolled up their sleeves and painted, replaced carpets, installed a new range, countertops and cabinets.

CHAPEL HILL - Local developers have applied to build a 128-acre retail center at Interstates 40-85 and Buckhorn Road in rural Orange County.

The project, approaching The Streets at Southpoint in size at 1.1 million square feet, could generate an estimated $7.2 million a year in sales and property taxes, according to the developers' application.

The site sits just outside Mebane, which would supply water and sewer service, said Craig Benedict, county planning director. It includes the site of the Buckhorn Flea Market.

Jim Parker of Summit Consulting Engineers of Hillsborough submitted the application for local developers calling themselves Buckhorn Road Associates. He declined to identify the developers Friday.

John Fugo, a principal in Montgomery Development Carolina Corp., is a partner in the project, Benedict said. Fugo developed Southern Village along with D.R. Bryan and others.

Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, called the proposal "extraordinary." The economic impact would exceed the tax revenue generated, Nelson said, as salaries paid to local workers would be spent in the community.

The project lies in one of three economic development zones that Orange County created more than a decade ago to stimulate commercial activity that could ease the tax burden on homeowners.

The developers plan three districts within the project, Parker said. One would have a small-town feel like the outdoor portion of Durham's Streets at Southpoint shopping mall or Market Street in Chapel Hill's Southern Village planned community.

The plan also calls for a regional retail center. The largest store the developers are talking about would be 200,000 square feet, big enough for a Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart. The center would also have a destination anchor store that would draw visitors from hours away, Benedict said.

The third area would be a retail-entertainment district with restaurants and a cinema.

The application proposes second- or third-story condominiums or loft units above first-floor shops.

Already one local citizens group has said it could support housing there.

Southern Community Park will cover 70 acres south of Southern Village and west of Highway 15-501, with more than 50 percent natural areas. Construction is scheduled to begin in late June or early July 2007 and be completed in mid-2008. The athletic and soccer fields are expected to be ready for play in August 2009. The park currently has a one and a half mile temporary natural-surface trail for pedestrian and mountain bike use.

The project is being funded by Orange County, Chapel Hill and a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant.