Consumer electronics giant Best Buy is targeting a massive piece of land along West Francisco Boulevard in San Rafael for a new store.

The big-box retailer would offer the city a potential windfall of sales tax revenue, but it could also pose a possible threat to the Best Buy-anchored Gateway Retail Center in Marin City.

The Minnesota-based retail chain plans to open a 35,000-square-foot store at 632 Irwin Street at West Francisco Boulevard and Du Bois Street, near Infiniti Marin and Lamps Plus. The company has submitted an application for the project and has a May 3 hearing before the city's design review board.

The project is the culmination of a lengthy effort by the city and commercial real estate broker Haden Ongaro of Orion Partners Ltd. to find a big-name retailer to put on the site, which was vacated by medical device maker Labcon in April 2003.

"We pulled out all the stops on this one," San Rafael City Manager Rod Gould said. "We think it will add to the revitalization of West Francisco Boulevard."

According to Gould, Best Buy swooped in at the tail end of the city's negotiations with one of its main competitors, Circuit City, which was tinkering with the idea of relocating from its spot across the highway at 330 Bellam Boulevard. Circuit City decided against relocating, Gould said.

Circuit City spokesperson Kathie Hess could not be reached for comment.

"We went pretty far down the track with Circuit City, but they ended up choosing not to do it," Gould said. "We switched horses to Best Buy and we're glad we've done so."

City officials expressed concern to Best Buy executives that a store in central San Rafael could diminish sales at the company's Marin City store, which anchors the Gateway Retail Center there. That center's ownership group has made a new attempt in the past year to overhaul it, spending more than $2 million in upgrades and bringing in name-brand tenants like Babies 'R' Us and Starbucks.

Gateway Retail Center leasing agent and developer Terence Tallen could not be reached for comment.

Benny Stewart, executive director of the Marin City Community Development Corp., said the new Best Buy could possibly draw in new customers from the northern parts of the county instead if digging into the Marin City store's customer base. He noted that the Gateway center has a Ross Dress for Less, and that the discount clothing chain has two other stores in Marin.

"I'm inclined to feel that we will hold our own," he said.

Best Buy executives assured the city that the Marin City Best Buy would not be adversely impacted, Gould said.

Best Buy spokesman Jay Musolf declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations or the project, but said the decision to locate one Best Buy near another is always "weighed against what the convenience would be for shoppers in that area."

Regardless of the store's potential impacts on Marin City, San Rafael could reap the rewards of additional sales tax revenue that comes from a big-box retailer like Best Buy. County Assistant Auditor Ernest Culver said Best Buy ranks among the top sales tax revenue generators in the county.

If approved by the Design Review Board, the project will go to the city's Planning Commission.

The applicants, which include landowner CA JAN LLC of Sonoma and Best Buy, propose to demolish the existing 79,000-square-foot industrial building in which Labcon manufactured its products before heading to Petaluma for a larger space. The project then calls for the construction of a new 35,231-square-foot retail building with 164 parking spaces. The applicants would also make substantial landscape improvements, including aligning Lincoln Avenue with Du Bois Street.

Gould said Best Buy could likely serve as the building block for an overhaul of the land along West Francisco Boulevard, much of which will be determined once Caltrans finishes its property acquisition for the Highway 101 widening project. As many as two more car dealerships could locate along that stretch, he said.