A blessing that marks the start of construction of the Pearl City Gateway project is scheduled today at the project site near the Pearl City Wal-Mart store.

Robertson Properties Group, a Los Angeles-based developer, is undertaking the project on 13.5 acres that once housed several old military warehouse buildings.

The retail center is scheduled to have Longs Drug, Checker Auto Supply, PETCO and other retailers as anchor tenants in 313,426 square feet of space.

The project is scheduled to open in the fall of next year. City leaders, including Mayor Mufi Hannemann, are expected to attend the ground-blessing ceremony, along with Robertson executives.