Peterson Cos. has already landed Cinépolis to anchor its Avonlea mixed-use project in Loudoun County, but it had been waiting to find a second anchor before breaking ground.

That plan has now changed, and the developer will build the 28-acre project in phases, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The first phase will feature the 11-screen movie theater and two adjacent buildings, totaling 180K SF of development. The developer plans to resume site work later this year.

The project is approved for 300K SF, and Peterson ultimately plans to include 116K SF of traditional retail, 25K SF of restaurants, a 25K SF grocery store, 33K SF of office and a 150-room hotel.

Peterson has recently accumulated 48 additional acres next to the Avonlea site where it plans to build residential in later phases.

Avonlea is not the only Loudoun County project the Fairfax-based developer is working on. Peterson is looking for more retail for the next phase of Commonwealth Center, anchored by Top Golf and iFly. Its long-term pipeline also includes Compass Creek, a 550-acre master planned community in Loudoun where Wal-Mart plans to begin building a new store next year.

Over in Maryland, Peterson's National Harbor development is booming six months after the $1.4B MGM resort and casino opened and the area still has plenty of new density in store.