The proposed redevelopment of the former Ford Motor Co. plant in Hapeville could be the beginning of an "aerotropolis" — a citylike area built around an airport.

The term was coined by John Kasarda, a University of North Carolina business professor. Its local proponent is Jim Jacoby, the developer who started the pioneering Atlantic Station mixed-use project in Midtown.

Jacoby Development has the 122-acre Ford site under contract and proposes building millions of square feet of office and retail space, possibly a telecommunications center serving Internet or other companies, and even an "alternative energy park."

By 2020, when the project is scheduled to be finished, more than 8,000 people could be working there, said Scott Condra, senior vice president with Jacoby.

An adjacent, separate development called Asbury Park would have 2,104 high-density residences and neighborhood commercial, according to the developer, Interciti Partners of Cumming.

Oxford Properties, whose partners include John Williams, the founder of Post Properties, is building 269 apartments in that project.

Interciti and Jacoby made separate presentations Monday to the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

The agencies will make recommendations to improve traffic flow. The Ford project alone could generate at least 72,000 new traffic trips a day.

"I think the infrastructure is there to handle the traffic," Hapeville Mayor Alan Hallman said. When Ford was operating — the plant closed in October 2006 — long lines of railcars brought the town to a standstill, Hallman said.

The proposed Macon-Atlanta commuter rail service might make a stop east of the Jacoby property. Combined with shuttle service, rail could provide alternative transportation for workers and visitors.

Jacoby hopes to begin demolition and environmental cleanup by midyear and start construction in 2009. Total investment will top $1 billion, he said.

Jacoby Development visited Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dulles International Airport near Washington to see existing aerotropolises.

Towns used to spring up around ports and rail hubs. Now, airports are generating growth.

The company has talked with officials at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport about becoming a part of its plans, Jacoby said.

"There's been a lot of dialogue with the airport about their needs, their expansion needs," Jacoby said. He suggested that offices now on airport land could be moved off-site to make room to better serve travelers.

The future Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. International Terminal, scheduled to open in three years, will be just across Loop Road from the Jacoby property. The plan is to offer shuttle service on Loop Road so travelers on layover can eat and shop.

Jacoby is still figuring out how height restrictions will affect its plans. A conceptual drawing shows surface parking at the south end of the development site near runways. Taller structures are possible on the north side along South Central Avenue. A possible big-box store faces I-75 to attract motorists.

Jacoby said the Ford redevelopment will be green and include alternative energy. He currently is involved in extracting natural gas from a closed landfill in DeKalb County and developing a waste energy project in St. Lucie County, Fla.