A $425 million development between downtown Tampa and Ybor City promises to bring thousands of construction jobs to the area.

On Friday, ZMG Construction of Longwood held a job fair looking for some of those workers.

The fair took place on the site where the development will eventually be built. It's called Encore and is being developed by Banc of America Community Development Corp. and the Tampa Housing Authority. It will feature single-family homes, offices, a new hotel, a grocery store, various other businesses, a school, a church and a park.

"We're going to be bringing in (construction) employment opportunities that range from 2,000 to 3,000 jobs, prospective jobs that are (needed) to get this project completed," said CEO Richard Zahn of ZMG Construction.

Zahn said they need people in just about every trade, from electricians to plumbers to people to clean up the site.

"We're actually looking for every side of the construction entity from infrastructure, dirt work, general laborers," he said.

Nicholas Barnard is one of the hundreds of people who showed up looking for a job. "You've got like a hundred people bidding on one job," he said. "The economy is so bad these days it's nothing like it used to be."

If you missed Friday's fair, it's not too late. ZMG Construction has a Web site, ZMGencore.com, where you can register your company or apply online.