MUKILTEO — The undeveloped grassy field where Paine Field Boulevard dead-ends into Mukilteo Speedway was once expected to be the site of a new Safeway store.

Now, the owner of the property wants to build a pedestrian-friendly shopping center — think of the Mill Creek Town Center — that city officials hope will become a model for growth in the area.

Harbour Pointe Limited, the company that owns the 23-acre property, wants to build several small buildings and a hotel on the site. A new road would run through the development between Harbour Place and Paine Field Boulevard, and the buildings would be connected with walkways and plazas.

“We’re trying to get away from that whole strip-mall feel,” Mayor Joe Marine said.

In 2002, Harbour Pointe Limited was negotiating with Safeway to put a new store on the site. The landowner had all the entitlements it needed from the city. However, the once-promising deal folded when Safeway backed out, said Dennis Vrabek of Harbour Pointe Limited.

“When that plan disappeared, we started looking at other opportunities,” Vrabek said. “Clearly, the University Village or the Mill Creek Town Center, those are certainly centers that people enjoy shopping in, they’re certainly friendly. That ‘main street’ concept is something we’d embrace.”

The Mill Creek Town Center has been wildly successful, city officials say. The Mill Creek development, which is bigger than what is being planned in Mukilteo, sports several upscale shops along a new road running parallel to the Bothell-Everett Highway.

Mukilteo officials mention Mill Creek’s prosperous town center when discussing the upcoming development on Mukilteo Speedway.

“That’s not surprising to me, because I know we’ve done a fantastic job of making the Town Center our crowning glory,” Mill Creek Mayor Donna Michelson said. “It complements the city, and our city complements the Town Center.”

Roughly 8 acres of the Mukilteo site has already been developed, leaving about 15 acres for the retail project.

Snohomish County owns the land along Mukilteo Speedway across from the planned retail development. Mukilteo planners are encouraging their county counterparts to promote similar growth on their property, Marine said.

“I still would like to see some sort of a pedestrian overpass connecting us with the county’s side,” he said.

Mukilteo City Council members reviewed the plans for the retail development during a recent study session. Councilman Marko Liias said he likes town-center-style developments because they look nicer, and they encourage people to get out of their cars and walk around.

Having a hotel on the site would also bring more shoppers to the city, as well as more tax revenue, Liias said.

“It would liven up an area that’s sort of been dormant for several years,” he said.