It may well be an idea that will work to bring upscale retail and potentially some live/work opportunities to The Villages development in Fayetteville.

Fayetteville City Council heard initial concept plans Thursday by Heritage Creek Development to construct nearly 89,000 square feet of commercial space on 13.7 acres situated along Ga. Highway 54 between Meeting Place Drive and Lafayette Avenue.

Mayor Ken Steele mirrored the comments of others on the council, suggesting that emerging plans for the development include how the tract will develop as part of the overall 110-acre area, the consideration of a live/work component to the project and, generally and the inclusion of more greenspace and less parking.

The council said a 45,000 square-foot anchor might fit instead of the 33,000 square-foot structure conceived in the original 2000 plan.

They acknowledged, in concert with the developer, that a grocer to serve as an anchor was no longer likely due to the large presence of other grocery stores in close proximity to the site. Heritage Creek owner Wayne Kendall said all the speciality grocers contacted declined to enter the Fayetteville market.

The council also agreed to consider an alteration to the square turnaround area immediately west of Hampton Inn, with the possibility of rounding it off to cut down on what Kendall called a traffic stacking problem.

Heritage Creek will continue to work with city staff to bring the proposal forward.