EAST TAMPA - A retail center that will include a Quiznos sandwich shop is under construction on North 22nd Street and slated for a late summer opening.

The approximately $1 million project was touted in the 2008 annual report for the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Area presented Thursday to the Tampa City Council.

Pro-fit Development Inc. and Hartley-Purdy Architecture Inc. are building Zagora Retail Center, which also will have a Caribbean Bistro & Ice Cream shop and New Trends Connection clothing store. The approximately 4,000-square-foot center is at 22nd and East Giddens Avenue, across from Ross Dress for Less at the East Gate Plaza.

Owners Margareth and Jean Loiseau, of Zagora Worldwide Enterprises Inc., also operate a retail shop, Zagora, at Channelside Bay Plaza. The shop specializes in home decor, and handmade clothing and accessories imported from around the world.

The East Tampa redevelopment area is bordered by Hillsborough Avenue, interstates 275 and 4, and the city limits. A portion of property taxes are reinvested in community projects within the district.

The retail center is privately funded with no tax dollars contributed by the East Tampa community, said Ed Johnson, the city's East Tampa redevelopment manager. But the special tax district might be able to provide financial help in building sidewalks.

The owners contacted the redevelopment office to see whether the project would be acceptable.

"They wanted to make sure they were putting something back into the community," Johnson said. "It's not something we were driving."

The area around Hillsborough and 22nd is heavily commercial, he said, "so it makes sense to have something like this."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.