DUBLIN -- The Dublin Planning Commission approved site plans for a new shopping center that is aimed at complementing the adjacent future IKEA store and Hacienda Crossings. Emerald Place will feature an open-air center totaling 140,155 square feet with nine buildings that will house shops and restaurants.

Blake Hunt Ventures, Inc., a Danville-based firm, is constructing the 13-acre project, which also will include a main street area running through the center.

Emerald Place is expected to be pedestrian-friendly and help tie in nearby shopping neighbors to form a recognizable retail district, said Hans Baldauf, a principal for BCV Architects.

We see the opportunity here at Hacienda of creating an eastern gateway to the city of Dublin, he said. The center will also include 667 parking spaces, a plaza area and a clock tower, if the plans are approved by the Dublin City Council following an upcoming public hearing.

Although the council already reviewed the preliminary development plans in April 2004, city staff asked the Planning Commission to forward its recommendation on the revised plans because of the projects magnitude.

The commission held an extensive study session in January and asked for some modifications. The commission approved the project 4-1 Tuesday night, with Morgan King abstaining because of some concerns about the design.

Jerry Hunt, president and chief operating officer of Blake Hunt Ventures, said construction should begin this summer and will take about a year to complete. He expects the center to be operating fully by the 2007 holiday season.

Its really going to be a beautiful project, he said. Hunt said the firm is negotiating leases with a sports apparel retailer, restaurants and a variety of other specialty stores.

Meanwhile, construction of the IKEA store has been delayed and the store may not open until fall of 2008 at the earliest, IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth said. The Dublin store would be the fourth in Northern California, following East Palo Alto, Emeryville and West Sacramento, which opened Wednesday.