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The developers haven't determined pricing, but they say the bundled services will cost less than a tenant would pay for them separately from individual providers.

Sheild Property's system will include wireless Internet access, wired high-speed Internet access, an Internet-based phone system, a network server, automated data backup, high definition TV and video feeds, video surveillance anywhere in the village and a "virtual village" that will be open for shopping when the retail center is closed.

The developers know of only two cities - New York and Los Angeles - where such a system has been installed from the ground up in a new project.

Commercial real estate experts believe such networks will become the norm in future buildings as corporations seek to improve technology, increase efficiency and save money.

Nationwide, home builders were among the first developers to venture so deeply into fiber optics.

Going a step further than simply prewiring homes for cable TV or Internet access, some have begun to install their own networks to provide entire neighborhoods with high-tech video, voice and data services.

Sheild Property said it's working with a consortium of information technology providers on a system that offers tenants flexibility and saves them money. Instead of buying a phone system and using a traditional telecommunications line, for example, a retailer could run a phone and other communications devices through the fiber optic backbone.

Such systems also create a new revenue stream for the developer.

"We will use it as a separate profit center," George Sheild said.

"It will be a higher level of service to the end user than would have been available, and it will be offered at a substantially lower cost."

Technology companies say such systems cost more to install than standard wiring but offer a substantial payback to landlords.

The initial retail building - about 40,000 square feet - is under construction and to open in March at the estimated $125 million village within 2,000-acre Ballantyne.

Two more commercial buildings - one of which is to include an art-and-independent film theater - are to be started in December and completed by next September.

Sheild said the developers are negotiating with Charlotte's Consolidated Theaters to operate the movie house. Two 16-story condominium buildings totaling more than 300 units are planned for a later stage.

Sheild Property hasn't set prices, but the developers have projected that the condos will sell in the $300-a-square-foot range, meaning a unit of 1,500 square feet would list for about $450,000.

A major retail development has been envisioned on the pivotal corner - across U.S. 521 from Ballantyne Commons East shopping center - since the Ballantyne master plan was conceived more than a decade ago.

By 2007, Sheild Property's projections show, the number of households within a 5-mile radius of Ballantyne will reach about 45,000, compared with 39,281 in 2002.

The village, with its distinctive midrise towers and glass theater rotunda, was designed by Charlotte's ai Design Group. LVTS is the lead technology integrator.

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Doug Smith: (704) 358-5174; dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com