Commercial slots are now available in Augusta’s biggest redevelopment project in years, Capitol Heights, marking a milestone for the 8-acre property on Western Avenue.

Keith Luke, Augusta’s director of economic development, said the start of tenant recruitment marks an important step in the reimagining of the former Kmart plaza.

The prominent site at 58 Western Ave. will contain a mixed-use building, a hotel and two smaller commercial buildings. The mixed-use structure is slated for 58 new market-rate apartments above a floor of retail space.

Luke said he uses Westbrook’s Rock Row as a comparison for what the new development could look like: medical offices alongside casual dining and apartments.

The Boulos Company, a Maine and New Hampshire commercial real estate broker, is spearheading the tenant search. Site developer George Campbell used to be the company’s president.

More than 21,000 vehicles travel Western Avenue daily and the city’s population of 19,000 nearly doubles with the daytime workforce, Boulos Managing Partner Chris Paszyc said in an email.

“We’re intentionally curating a dynamic mix of local, regional, and national tenants that reinforce Augusta’s role as the commercial and civic hub of Central Maine,” Paszyc said. “We see demand for quick-serve and fast-casual dining, financial institutions, and medical-retail users that complement the project’s hospitality and residential components and serve nearby State government and area businesses.”

Luke said he expects the commercial spots, which range from 2,000 to 15,000 square feet, will fill up quickly.

The 135-room hotel on the site is already under contract, Luke said. Paszyc said he could not reveal the hotel brand buying the building, but he said it was a “national flag.”

“If you look at the vacancy rates, which are almost nonexistent now, at the Marketplace (at Augusta), Augusta Crossing, even Shaw’s Plaza and Turnpike (Mall) are all filling up,” Luke said. “Chris Paszyc from Boulos would not have taken this project on as an enthusiastic lead broker if his confidence level wasn’t very high that they could fill these spaces almost immediately.”

The project is expected to be a boon for the heart of Augusta, bringing the “center of energy” closer to downtown, Luke said.

While other major developments, including Augusta Crossing and Marketplace at Augusta, have centered on Interstate 95, Capitol Heights — with its hotel and apartments — sits about a mile from downtown shops and restaurants.

“Those are residents, those are visitors who are going to be that much closer to our downtown and patronizing everyone from the Riverfront Barbeque to Otto’s to State Lunch and AHOP and the Downtown Diner,” Luke said. “I think all of these businesses are going to benefit from the proximity.”