Calling it “the biggest development of its kind in the state,” Slidell Mayor Ben Morris along with parish officials and developers officially broke ground Wednesday on the massive $1 billion development known as Summit Fremaux.

Despite the sweltering heat, everybody at Wednesday’s ceremony were all smiles with the realization that after three-and-a-half years 400 acres of prime land along Interstate 10 would soon be a thriving economic boost for St. Tammany.

“At first I never thought it would get done, but here we are,” Morris said.

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If all goes well, by 2010, a giant retail center containing Dillard’s, Belk’s, Barnes & Noble, plus restaurants, a movie theater and other shops will comprise the centerpiece of what will be a major economic engine for Slidell and St. Tammany Parish.

Local businessman Robert Levis, who owns the 400 acres between Old Spanish Trail and Fremaux Drive, and Birmingham, Ala. developers Bayer Properties plan to expand from the retail center to add a hotel, apartments, condominiums and a medical complex. Finally, one end of the project will house the University of New Orleans Tech Park that will not only be the Northshore campus of the school, but will also house high-tech companies that will do research and development.

UNO Chancellor Tim Ryan, who is an economist, said the Summit Fremaux will be a major catalyst for economic growth in the area.

“This is a major turning point in taking Slidell and the parish from a bedroom community to a major economic force,” Ryan said.

The total project, which is being financed by a combination of federal Go Zone bonds, and bonds sold by the Fremaux Economic Development District will cost $1 billion. Bayer Properties estimates that during construction, the project will create 3,000 jobs, and after it is completed, there will be 5,000 full and part-time jobs. Bayer Properties will pay back the bonds through a 1 percent sales tax and a hotel tax that will be levied on customers that shop within the Summit Fremaux.

Levis said he had a vision for the land back in the late seventies, but could never get any backing.

Three years ago, he approached Bayer Properties. The company had developed similar developments in Birmingham, Kentucky and Nevada. CEO Jeffrey Bayer and Levis came to an agreement to build what Bayer calls a “lifestyle center” on Levis’ property.

The retail center will contain 800,000 square feet of stores, theatres and restaurants. Bayer Properties partner Jill Deer said that the lifestyle center should be finished by 2010, with the housing, office and medical complexes to be completed shortly thereafter.

Ryan envisions about six buildings located on the tech park with 40 percent of the structures to be used by UNO, and the rest to be leased to companies like Boeing and Lockheed.

Ryan said the location is perfect for a tech park because it lies between Stennis Space Center and the Michoud NASA facility. He sees Stennis, Michoud and UNO all becoming leaders in research. He said the same thing happened to Huntsville, Ala., after NASA centered its missile research there.

“This will make the region a significant job generator for the entire country,” Ryan said. He added that UNO has experience in tech parks having built facilities at the old Pontchartrain Beach, Michoud and at Avondale in Jefferson Parish.

The whole project really hinges on access, and with the opening of the I-10 interchange at Fremaux in August, Summit Fremaux will have two entrances from I-10 at Old Spanish Trail and Fremaux. Plus the development will have a service road connecting the two interchanges along with a major north-south boulevard.

“The interchange was the key to the project,” Deer said.

St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis sees Summit Fremaux not only as a major economic boost for the parish, but also as a symbol of the area’s rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

“This is a signal that St. Tammany Parish is well on it’s way to rebuilding,” Davis said. “This is an exciting day for us, and a dream come true.”

Ironically, Bayer Properties sees the hurricane as a good thing for their project.

“The storm fast-forwarded the whole project,” Deer said. “With a huge population migrating here, there was a need for more retail space. That population increase, made us change our plans and increase its size.”

Ryan sees Slidell as being in the right place at the right time.

“The I-12 and I-10 corridor are the magical locale right now. We are talking about more than just office space,” Ryan said.