DECATUR — A massive proposed commercial development in Decatur-annexed Limestone County will be discussed tonight by City Council.

The project on Alabama 20 would encompass 1.35 million square feet of retail development, entail a projected investment of $1.3 billion and employ as many as 4,000 people, according to the city’s resolution. City officials are not specifying the exact location of the site, and the developer wishes to remain anonymous, said City Attorney Herman Marks.

The resolution would authorize Mayor Don Kyle to negotiate on a non-binding basis with the “developer, proposed tenants, all related government entities, utility companies and others deemed necessary by the mayor for the development of the project.” Kyle is required to present the “results of the negotiations and his proposals for implementing them including development documents, arrangements for financial assistance, if any, including public financing and any other proposal deemed necessary or proper to the City Council as soon as practical.”

The resolution also urges Kyle to present the council with any and all negotiated non-binding documents and other plans recommended for the development for its consideration and possible approval and implementation by March 11.

Officials have all signed strict non-disclosure agreements forbidding them from discussing details about the proposed development until a final deal has been reached.

It is not clear if the project would be located on the same 536-acre site once considered for a mixed-use development to include a Bass Pro Shop and hotel. That project has been on hold since August 2008, but officials have said Sweetwater developer Genesis USA still has an option on the property. Before the recession stalled the project and the deal expired, Decatur had offered a total of $50 million in infrastructure, land and tax abatements for the proposed development.

The council will hold the meeting in council chambers on the first floor after its 5 p.m, work session on the seventh floor. Kyle will not attend the meeting because he is New York City assisting Decatur Utilities with bond refinancing.

Decatur-annexed Limestone County is near the I-65/565 interchange.