DANIEL IVANOFF strides into the room like Genghis Khan, scrappy, ready to take on all comers. He's riding high on several recent coups, including the sale in October of Civica, a mixed-use building on 106th Avenue near Northeast Second Street with a restaurant operated by celebrity chef John Howie. Civica sold for $462 a foot, a record for the region. Ivanoff scoffs at rival developer Kemper Freeman's declaration that he'll create something akin to Rodeo Drive on Bellevue Way. "He's feeding us BS," Ivanoff says. "After me, there won't be room for more luxury retailers."

Ivanoff is well on his way to making good on that promise. Three blocks from Freeman's empire, he's building four towers slated for offices and luxury condos that will sit above a shopping village. He has already attracted Neiman Marcus to anchor the shopping village and boasts of getting more of the same. "We're talking to all the top retailers - Prada, Louis Vuitton - we have 20 letters of intent, but nothing signed yet."

Hearing that Neiman Marcus had been scouting around Seattle and Bellevue, Ivanoff approached the retailer armed with statistics that showed downtown Bellevue had a higher income population within a ten-mile radius than any of the regions where Neiman had opened its last five stores.

The arguments were persuasive, and Ivanoff pulled off what may be one of the most astute master strokes in Bellevue retailing history. "When we landed Neiman, that must have been a bad day for Freeman," he crows. He had gathered his data by conducting extensive research, which included using focus groups, to see what had worked at similar mixed-use developments. What he found was that shoppers wanted the European shopping experience. To find out what that meant, Ivanoff traveled to 28 cities in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.

Now he knew what he needed to do to satisfy Neiman and the other high-end retailers he intended to attract. He changed his plans An open second floor plaza will add charm to the Bravern. High-end to include an open air plaza on one side of the space that Neiman would occupy, and on the other side, he added a large entry courtyard. He also built in meandering walkways lined by gardens.

Although Bellevue and Seattle are simultaneously going through a boom, observers say the two offer a different experience and complement each other. "It's great that a lot of things are happening," says Hilda Blanco, chair of urban design and planning for the University of Washington. "We're likely to have more lively streets." Blanco points out that while Seattle has history, Bellevue offers a clean slate. Some companies will want a presence in both, or they might opt for one over the other, as Neiman is doing.

As in Seattle, downtown Bellevue's development is being fueled by increased density. Four more big-ticket projects are planned within blocks of Bellevue Square Mall, including Wasatch Development, a 10.5 acre super-block along Northeast Eighth Street with plans for 1,000 condos and town houses, a hotel, health club and spa, offices, shops and restaurants populating eight towers. "We learned through experience that we have to have the spa, the health club," says Paul Willie, Wasatch's executive vice president. "But what we have here is better; we've got the mall and across the street, the theater. People don't want to live in the same building as a theater. They want it a short walk away and we've got that."

Plazas and green space will break it up and create a neighborhood effect. "Urbanization is back," says Willie.