MADISON, Ala. – It was a family farm for around 200 years.

But Clift Farm along Highway 72 will soon become new homes and a multimillion dollar shopping center.

The sought-after land is the last major undeveloped property along the Highway 72 corridor from Huntsville to Athens.

The evergreens are a natural buffer along Highway 72.

“Most people didn’t know it was as big as it was,” Susan Clift said.

“It’s about 560 acres,” Breland Companies president Joey Ceci said.

Behind the trees, a massive staging area is set for future construction.

“We don’t need another strip center or power center retail. What we really need is retail that’s done right and works well with residential,” Ceci said.

A few years ago, the Clift family agreed to sell most of the nearly 200 year old farmland in Madison to Breland Companies for development.

“Paw Paw made a good decision,” Clift said.

Susan and her husband now run the farm stand across the road.

“We live here, grow here and sell here,” Clift said.

“To honor the heritage of the piece of land. There’s going to be beautiful green spaces in here, walking trails,” Ceci said.

Ceci says part of the goal with this development is to make access in and out of Clift Farm simpler. So, he says they’re adding a third lane along highway 72 on the west bound side. They’re also adding another stop light before drivers hit Balch Road.

“But it’s also going to help traffic on Highway 72, which is kind of a bottleneck in our community,” Ceci said.

Ceci says the plan for Clift Farm is to include hundreds of new homes, medical office space, a grocery store and a lake.

“John and I have always kidded we won’t have far to go to the store or to the movies,” Susan said.

Most of the construction will happen in phases. Ceci says some retail space should be ready by spring of 2020, and they’ve already chosen Wow! Internet to be their service provider. The company is promising 1-gig internet speeds for future residents.