With the bankruptcy of their developer, two big retail projects in the Tampa area may be history.

This week, Opus South Corp. of Atlanta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which shields a company from creditors as it reorganizes. The company is best known for its condo projects, including a luxury condo at 400 Beach Drive in St. Petersburg.

However, at a real estate convention last summer, the company showcased two retail projects it proposed: a massive 600,000-square-foot project called Midtown Tampa Bay near West Cypress Street and Dale Mabry Highway, and a 170,000-square-foot "power center" on the west end of Hillsborough Avenue.

A Kohl's department store was interested in locating at the center, called the Market at Double Branch, an Opus South executive said last summer.

On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Opus South, Winston Hewett, said she had no record of the two retail projects. They likely were shelved because of the economy, Hewett said.