A major commercial development proposed southwest of Lincoln faced no opposition during its public airing before the City Council Monday.

The Southwest Village development near U.S. 77 and West Denton Road calls for about 1.3 million square feet of commercial and retail space — rivaling Lincoln’s largest commercial developments. Westfield Gateway has just over 1 million square feet of space.

Plans call for a couple of hotels, about 100 townhomes and up to three big box stores, one of them large enough to be a Super Target or Wal-Mart Supercenter. Another 99 acres would be annexed for future construction of homes.

The developer, Rick Kiolbasa of Dial Realty Corp. of Omaha, said he doesn’t have a tenant for the big box site yet, although Target and Wal-Mart are possibilities.

“We’ve talked to everybody,” he said.

The city-county development guide designates the area as a community center, which allows big box stores.

Dial Realty has developed several shopping centers in Nebraska and other states, including the Lakeside Plaza development at 168th and Center in Omaha and the Salt Creek Center at the 27th Street and Interstate 80 interchange.

Kiolbasa said he wanted to do a project here because he lived in Lincoln for 20 years. He said the area is wide open for large retail that should attract people from other communities.

“It has a lot of potential,” he said.

Because this will open up a new area outside of Lincoln, the developer will bear the burden, initially, for bringing infrastructure to the area, including two miles of water lines and three miles of arterial streets.

The developers will pay for nearly $6 million in water, sewer and road improvements and be reimbursed by the city when impact fees start rolling in.

Up until recently, developers had to either wait for the city to get to the area they wanted to develop or pay for the infrastructure themselves.

Kiolbasa said construction might begin this fall, with businesses possibly opening in 2008.

The public hearing on the zoning change and annexation necessary to the development will be continued at next week’s council meeting, with a vote expected afterward.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.