Mar. 27--The Sweetwater development, planned for a 540-acre tract at the southwest corner of Interstate 65 and Alabama 20 in Decatur-annexed Limestone County, would begin with development of about one-fourth of the total acreage.

Planned for construction as soon as a final contract is entered between the city, Genesis and Bass Pro Shops, the initial phase of the Sweetwater project would include:

--A $40 million Bass Pro shop between 130,000 and 150,000 square feet with an adjacent pond, and possibly including a restaurant.

--A $60 million suite hotel with between 275 and 300 rooms, up to 12 stories tall.

--A 60,000-square-foot convention center, attached to the hotel.

The hotel and convention center would be in the I-65/Alabama 20 corner, with Bass Pro immediately to the south. The developer has declined to identify the hotel, but its attorney, Barney Lovelace of Decatur, said he expects the hotel to make an announcement within the next few weeks.

John Q. Hammons Co. would own the hotel and convention center. Among its previous projects: Embassy Suites Huntsville and Embassy Suites Montgomery. The company also has built several Marriott hotels.

West of the hotel, in the northern quarter of the development, is the remainder of what Genesis calls Phase 1 of Sweetwater. Genesis has not identified any tenants in this area, but Lovelace said he expected a big-box retailer on the west side of the development, along Mitchell Road, and possibly a stadium-style movie theater.

The remaining phases of the development are purely conceptual, but Genesis plans call for a combination of retail and office buildings, plus 2,700 single-family residences.

Lovelace said Genesis also plans a performing arts center that, he said, would host live performances similar to those at Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

Lovelace said some of the investors in Genesis have close ties to the music industry. One of the few investors he has identified is Gary Glover of Nashville-based The Glover Group Inc. The Glover Group publishes Performing Arts Magazine and Nashville Arts & Entertainment magazine. It is an agent for several musicians, and its Web site says its "past celebrity relationships" include Amy Grant, Vince Gill and Bill Cosby.

The developer estimates the cost of the entire project is $1.3 billion. Lovelace said Genesis arrived at this amount by estimating the total square feet of building space in the planned project and multiplying it by a typical per-square-foot construction cost, then adding the cost of the land.

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