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.