You can't accuse Mike Hoque of thinking small.

In the last 20 years, he's grown his business from limousines and event management into one of the largest restaurant operators in downtown Dallas.

His Main Street eateries, including Dallas Chop House, Wild Salsa and Dallas Fish Market, are local favorites.

Now, the 43-year-old Bangladesh-born businessman is playing in the property big leagues with a proposal for a massive Dallas redevelopment project. For the last few years, he's been buying up blocks of scruffy real estate on the backside of downtown.

The area between Dallas' city hall and the Interstate 30 canyon is the last large undeveloped section of the central business district.

Teaming up with North Texas' biggest commercial developer — Toyota headquarters builder KDC — Hoque is proposing an eight-block area of towers and greenspace that would connect downtown with the nearby Cedars neighborhood.

As large as some suburban development sites, the property is in the shadow of Dallas' skyline.

"We are right downtown," Hoque said. "There are so many possibilities with this project."

Hoque hired renowned architect Pelli Clarke Pelli to draw up concepts for the 8 million square-foot project. KDC will work on office proposals, while Hoque Global promotes retail, restaurant and residential construction for the area.

The partners are hoping major companies, such as Amazon, will take a look at what they call the Dallas Smart District for potential employment locations. Amazon is shopping North America for a site for its massive second headquarters that could house 50,000 workers.

"I am completely inspired by our team's proven track record of creating places that generate business success," Hoque said.

The Dallas Smart District is just the kind of "big idea" downtown Dallas needs to offer major businesses a place to plant their flag. Don't let development-hungry suburbs get all the attention for shiny mixed-use projects when there is a chance to do one downtown.