Gaylord Entertainment, owner of such properties as Nashville’s sprawling Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and the just-opened Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Maryland on the Potomac River, has announced plans to build a resort and convention hotel at the Mesa Proving Grounds in Mesa, Ariz.

The Nashville-based hospitality company entered into a land purchase agreement with real estate developer DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC—an affiliate of DMB Associates—which owns 3,200 acres of the property, previously used by General Motors as a vehicle testing site.

The Mesa development, which will occupy 100 acres, marks the fifth Gaylord resort and conference center project for the company. The new development will be approximately 30 minutes from downtown Phoenix, next to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the project is expected to include 1,500 rooms and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and will be completed as early as 2012.

In addition to the Gaylord resort property, the complex will also feature a Westcor retail development, a Tom Fazio–designed golf course, office space, residential offerings, and other mixed-use components. Specific details regarding the size and budget for the project have not yet been determined, and the project is pending final approval by Gaylord’s board of directors.