Bounded by Woodward Avenue to the west, Eight Mile Road to the north, railroad tracks to the east and State Fair Avenue to the south, construction on the project could begin in the spring, said Christopher Stralkowski, executive project manager for Ferguson's Lansing-based Ferguson Development LLC.

"The original plans were a suburban development in an urban setting — a sea of parking, mid box, big box, outlot stores," Stralkowski said. "You go there and do your grocery shopping, go to Lowes, get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. (Cox) took a site plan and really energized the plan. He created an urban retrofit."

Developments of this scale take time, Marvin Beatty said during a tour of the site last month, noting that the Gateway Marketplace development immediately to the north, which has the city's first Meijer Inc. store, took about eight years; and that the former J.L. Hudson's department store site on Woodward Avenue downtown remains vacant, even though Rosko Development LLC, which is tied to Dan Gilbert, was awarded development rights to the 2-acre parcel as part of the incentive package to move his Quicken Loans Inc. moved downtown from the suburbs in 2009 (the move occurred in 2010).

"The development plan for this proposal significantly changed from what was originally presented, based on a collaborative design process with the City of Detroit Planning Department," said Glen Long Jr., interim president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., in a statement.

"In the fall, the developer presented the updated plan to the community for feedback and comment. As a result of that process, the developer needed to conduct additional due diligence to determine the most appropriate phasing for infrastructure and vertical construction, based on site, economic, and current market conditions. Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) is monitoring the developer's progress adapting to the new requirements. When the developer completes its new plans, it will present them to DEGC and the City for additional review and evaluation."