MARYLAND HEIGHTS • Alan Bornstein and investment partner Stan Kroenke have dropped a proposal to develop 1,800 acres of flood plain in this West County suburb, and the city is stepping back to draw up plans and solicit proposals for a project it hopes will be a regional entertainment destination.

“Mr. Bornstein has picked up his sticks and gone home,” Maryland Heights Councilman Ed Dirck said during a special meeting to update officials on the project Tuesday evening. “We’re starting from scratch.”

It could be a year or more before officials open up another request for proposals from developers interested in building on the prime real estate. In the meantime, city planners will be filling in more details of the kind of amenities and proposals they expect while also hashing out a plan with the levee district to finance the stormwater infrastructure needed before anyone breaks ground.

“This is not about the next Walmart,” Maryland Heights Community Development Director Wayne Oldroyd said.

Instead, he envisions a regional draw with the type of entertainment and cultural attractions that bring money into the region’s economy instead of moving sales tax dollars from one municipality to the next.