CARY -- A $180-million shopping center renovation project in Cary could start as early as this summer.

The Waverly Place project will bring more than 180,000 square feet of retail and office space at the intersection of Tryon and Kildaire Farm roads. The complex will also include apartments.

"We'll be taking down about 80 percent of the buildings, and re-building them on a grander scale," explained Luis Rios, of Zapolski & Rudd, the Durham-based firm leading the project. "At this point we have 220,000 square feet of retail, 215,000 square feet of office, and 320 residential units."

Some store owners hope the project will attract more customers.

"We've had stores come in, and we've had stores go," said Janet Serotta, who opened Serotta's dress store at the shopping center in 1989. "I think [the renovation] is going to be great. I think it's going to help the businesses a whole lot. It's going to help the center."

Rios said tenants have already committed to the project, including Crescent State Bank. He said the project fills a need.

"We have a lot of evidence that people living in Cary right now are going to places like Southpoint and Triangle Town Center when they really shouldn't be driving that far," said Luis Rios, who works with the Zapolski & Rudd. "They should be able to get what they're looking for much closer to home."

Serotta said the renovations can't come soon enough.

"I'd like to see them get started on it within the next couple of months," she said. "As soon as possible."