A commercial developer seeking to acquire a 6.6 acre tract owned by Peachtree City along Ga. Highway 54 West said Thursday the parcel is worth roughly $2.45 million based on the purchase price he recently paid for one parcel next door.

Doug McMurrain of Capital City Development said both his company and Flexxon Operating own parcels on either side of the city tract, and they want to acquire the city parcel so all the tracts can be developed as one complex.

The sites are on the south side of Hwy. 54 between Line Creek and Planterra Ridge subdivision.

McMurrain said Kohl’s Department Store is one of the stores contemplated for the development, called McIntosh Village South. Also on the draft schematic plan is a 135,000-square-foot “warehouse club” which would also be a good fit, McMurrain said.

McMurrain was previously involved with the development of the tracts on the north side of Hwy. 54 that resulted in the Wal-Mart-Home Depot-Best Buy retail centers.

Because the entire development would be larger than 150,000 square feet, developers must seek a special use permit from the City Council since the size would violate the city’s big box ordinance.

Flexxon and Capital City have proposed a land swap with the city although no specific tracts of land have been offered. City Attorney Ted Meeker said the city can accept more than one tract of land in return as long as the total value is equal to or greater than the value of the city-owned tract, which currently leads to the Line Creek Nature Area.

If the city were to sell the property, it would have to go up for bid, Meeker said.

Flexxon owns a parcel that includes part of the northern tip of the lake at the nature area, and the company is willing to swap that land, McMurrain said. But a representative for Flexxon said the company is proceeding forward with its development plans and would need an answer soon about the land swap.

The companies have projected that the development would bring an estimated $797,000 in property and sales taxes to Peachtree City if McIntosh Village South is built as proposed.

Councilman Stuart Kourajian said he’s not necessarily interested in selling the parcel but he would entertain an idea to swap it for other land. He added that he was concerned about the potential for a lot of traffic especially because of the regional draw of the warehouse club store.

McMurrain said there is a competing development pending almost just across the county line in Coweta that would also significantly impact traffic along the highway.

Mayor Harold Logsdon noted that the land the city would receive in a swap must be land the city wants.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said she liked the idea of the development being done by a partnership of developers. She noted that a mixed-use project on the city’s east side, Lexington Circle, has floundered because several property owners involved haven’t been able to work together.

No action was taken at the meeting.