RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) – A real estate developer has purchased a lot south of downtown and plans to lure a national retailer to the site.

John L. Kalish, owner of Otter Creek Apartments and an owner in Mid-Vermont Properties LLC, said his company purchased the 19.5-acre site just south of the Holiday Inn near the intersection of U.S. Routes 4 and 7 for $1.4 million Wednesday.

He plans to turn the unused parcel into a retail development.

Although he said it was too early to be specific about his plans, he said he had been in tentative discussions with “national household name” companies as potential tenants.

“For the retail square feet, we don’t have a plan solidified,” Kalish said. “Whether it’s 100,000 or 130,000 square feet, I won’t know until we’ve started the engineering and site plan.”

He added, “It’s just a matter of us being able to configure the site layout. … Whether it’s linear versus horseshoe or a single-box design, I don’t know. It’s a little too premature now.”