Charlotte's Tuscan Development is showing confidence in plans for the Little Sugar Creek Greenway by announcing a five-story building overlooking a portion of its route.

The Watermark, which would include offices and residences, is believed to be the first new private development attracted to the emerging 15-mile project.

Central Piedmont Community College President Tony Zeiss, chairman of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway Action Committee, anticipates many more.

"Our research indicates that greenways like this -- with water -- create economic development, particularly commercial and residential," he said.

Planners believe it could become a magnet for urban dwellers, much like the clustering anticipated along light-rail lines.

Tuscan co-owner Ray Farris III said his firm is investing about $6 million in a development project on Greenwood Cliff that could help transform the greenway area around Midtown Square.

But not everyone is pleased with the developers' proposal.

Eight Greenwood Cliff property owners have filed a petition protesting a rezoning Tuscan needs to move forward.

"We would welcome it with open arms if they would be reasonable and work on a project that fits the community," said Woody Fox, whose office is in a converted house on the street.

He said neighbors are concerned because they think the building would be aesthetically out of character on Greenwood Cliff, block the view of the greenway for some property owners and increase traffic on a narrow street.

"We would love to see a lower-profile building," he said.

Farris said the developers have met with neighbors and are trying to be sensitive to their concerns.

To proceed as planned, Tuscan needs approval of a rezoning of the 1.4-acre site from office to mixed-use development.

The City Council, scheduled to hear the request Monday, is expected to make a decision in June.

To make way for the greenway, Mecklenburg County began buying businesses along Kings Drive near the creek about two years ago. Starting this summer, many of those structures -- including a McDonald's, a Taco Bell, a Jiffy Lube and Morehead Street Station -- will be demolished.

"What you see today is going to be completely different from what you see a year from now," Farris said.

He said The Watermark, planned between Kings Drive and Kenilworth Avenue on Greenwood Cliff, would be 30 feet above the greenway, roughly across from the McDonald's site.

The Park and Recreation Department's greenway master plan envisions a Parisian-style promenade with three fountain plazas, shops and restaurants along that section of the creek.

The Watermark would take advantage of that promised view, Farris said, with "walls of glass, balconies, a deck on the greenway side of the first floor and a spectacular conference room and expansive decks on the roof."

Tuscan wants to start construction by this fall and complete the 34,000-square-foot building during the summer of 2005.

Building designer Jim Merriman of Perkins & Will said the architectural challenge is to mesh it with the "intimate scale" of Greenwood Cliff on one side with the expansive scale of the greenway on the other.

Renderings of the building are still being prepared.

The conceptual design has "a very contemporary look that takes advantage of the views with glass, steel and sun devices," Merriman said. "It also fits the context of the street with materials that are comfortable for neighbors on Greenwood Cliff."

Farris said the fourth floor and about half the fifth level would be residential condos. He anticipates fewer than 20 units.

Collett & Associates is marketing the office space, expected to attract professional services providers and small business owners seeking a building with on-site parking near uptown. Tuscan plans to move its offices there.

Tuscan's Jacy Painter is handling the residential units.

Two deteriorated apartment buildings will be cleared from the property. The site consists of five lots purchased with the assistance of Collett & Associates, which also has another big interest nearby.

The commercial real estate firm is working with developer Pappas Properties to sign anchor retail tenants for a proposed redevelopment of Midtown Square shopping center.

Tuscan's previous condo projects include Cedar Mill in Third Ward, Hawthorne Court and Kensington Court in Plaza-Midwood, Tivoli in First Ward and Scotts Hill in the Ballantyne area.

The Little Sugar Creek Greenway will run southward from Cordelia Park near Davidson and 24th streets to the state line southwest of Carolina Place mall.

Planners expect commercial development to occur around the midtown section, roughly between Central Piedmont Community College and Carolinas Medical Center and near Park Road Shopping Center.

Over most of its length, Zeiss said, the greenway will be "soft edged," with walking trails, gardens, picnic shelters, parks and natural areas.

The county has acquired more than half the land it needs but is still raising most of the $35.6 million expected to be required to develop the greenway.

"We said from the beginning that it would take 12 years to complete, and we're two-and-half years into it," Zeiss said. "I'm pleased with the progress we've made."