The Domain is a combination residential/retail complex developed this month by Simon Property Group in Austin, Texas. It could be the basis for a development planned by Simon in Cranberry. Click photo for larger image. Related story: It's trendy, no matter what you call it

Cranberry residents traveling near Austin, Texas, in the next several months might want to check out a place called The Domain.

While it might not have the historic appeal of the state capitol building or the vibe of a music festival, the ambitious development has apartments perched above Tiffany's, not far from Neiman Marcus and Macy's. Overall, about 700,000 square feet of shops and restaurants line a sort of open-air, winding main street rather than sheltering under one massive roof, with neighboring buildings that include 75,000 square feet of office space.

This place, when it opened earlier this month, could foreshadow things Simon Property Group may try in its long-awaited Cranberry shopping center, where the same executive that helped get The Domain out of the ground is handling the Pennsylvania project for the Indianapolis mall operator. Simon may pair its concept of retail, restaurants and residential with a separate 116-acre office complex planned for a contiguous site near Interstate 79 and Route 228.

The office space, if built, would be developed by privately held Indianapolis development firm Lauth Property Group and Cranberry real estate owners Don Rodgers and Joe Fisher, who together control 116 acres north and east of Simon's 80 acres.

Plans already have been drawn for 800,000 to 1 million square feet of corporate office space and for a thematic tie-in with the Simon development. Together, the two projects would be known as The Summit at Cranberry, according to site plans produced earlier this year.

Simon and Lauth, one of the largest developers in the United States, have worked together before. In Carmel, Ind., the companies collaborated on a 70-acre development known as Clay Terrace, the first lifestyle center in Indiana. It features more than 70 stores, a spa and simulation of Main Street architecture from the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.

If built, The Summit at Cranberry would be the first Pittsburgh-area project for Lauth, which opened a Downtown Pittsburgh office last May at One Oxford Centre.

Lauth first went after Monroeville nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric as an anchor office tenant. In fact, Lauth Vice President Kevin Wade pursued Westinghouse even after the company announced in December it had narrowed its search to either its current complex in Monroeville or a site across the street from the Lauth parcel for an expansion capable of holding up to 2,000 employees.

"He approached us after we had made that announcement," confirmed Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert. "We did give him the courtesy of listening to the presentation." In the end, though, the company ruled it out.

Westinghouse is expected to announce a decision by the end of the month.

Even without Westinghouse, Mr. Wade said, "We are going to stick with it." Instead of one large corporate headquarters complex, Lauth now envisions four office buildings to start, and perhaps two to three more in a future phase.

Transportation improvements could be part of the Simon-Lauth Cranberry development. Federal officials already have approved almost $5 million in roadwork, but a Simon official declined to comment on progress of talks with state officials on funding millions of dollars of road improvements needed to support development on the Cranberry site near Interstate 79 and Route 228.

With any big project, funding for new highways ramps and other road improvements is critical. Simon, which owns Ross Park Mall, South Hills Village and Century III Mall, has been looking at the site since 2002. Before that, other developers saw its potential for retail. Anyone looking there has considered access off the major routes a major issue.

If it all comes together, the project will likely reflect trends in retail development that have influenced both Simon and other developers as they look to answer consumer demand for places that feel more like communities and have the added benefit of being used even when the stores may be closed.

"There's synergy all around," said Simon spokesman Les Morris, who did not have details on the Cranberry plans but was willing to discuss overall trends.

Before opening The Domain, Simon and various partners layered mixed uses together at projects such as Coconut Point, an open-air shopping center in Estero, Fla., which opened in November, and Firewheel Town Center in Garland, Texas, which opened in October 2005.

Mr. Morris said the company has even been adding residential and office uses to established projects when possible. It's appealing to be able to walk to restaurants, stores and theaters. "People like that environment," he said, noting The Domain staff told him on a recent weekend that 18 of 39 prospects who came to look at apartments signed leases.

Materials that Simon has posted on its site to help market the Cranberry project to retail tenants indicates the 885,000-square-foot center will have major anchors, fashion retailers, home furnishings and sports anchors, restaurants and a multi-screen theater. The plan also calls for condominiums, offices and a hotel.

The plans set a target opening date of 2009, but that will probably be determined by when the funding for road improvements is all in place.