New England Patriots owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft have assembled one of the largest tracts of privately owned land along the Interstate 495 corridor. And, no, they haven’t done so for the prestige that comes with being the largest taxpayer in Foxborough.

Yes, Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place were landmark projects. But I’m betting the Krafts have even grander development ambitions as they look to the future of their growing real estate empire along Route 1.

If you’ve always had a hankering to live next to a stadium, can’t get enough of Patriot Place, or would just love to have an office across the street, well you may be in luck. On deck are plans for a major corporate complex, a hotel expansion and maybe even some housing, too.

“We have the ability to allow a business of scale to get open quickly and continue to grow in one mega location,” Jonathan Kraft said in a statement.

Of course, the Krafts’ ultimate development ambitions can be difficult to divine. As anyone who has nodded off watching a post-game Patriots press conference knows, these guys run a very tight-lipped organization.

Still, if the Krafts are not exactly baring all when it comes to their future development plans, the scale and, frankly, audacity of the Kraft’s real estate ambitions are hard to hide.

Big Plans

All told, the family’s 500-acre tract fronting Route 1 is one of the largest, privately owned tracts along in the I-495 vicinity in Massachusetts. And it’s likely to just keep getting bigger, with the Krafts committed to snapping up desirable tracts along Route 1 as they come up for sale.

“We have always looked at other parcels up and down Route 1,” said Ted Fire, a top executive with the Kraft Group’s real estate arm. “We have acquired some big parcels over that time period and we will continue to evaluate that.”

Now, with Patriot Place filling in its last retail nooks and crannies, the Krafts are turning their attention to other types of development. And at the top of their agenda is landing a big, corporate fish for an extensive parcel the family owns just across from the stadium.

The Kraft Group, which oversees development on the family’s holdings, has been eyeing plans for the last few years to lure a corporate headquarters or big biotech complex to the site, but the recession put those plans on the back burner.

But with the economy on the rebound, the Krafts are ramping up their pursuit again – and starting to make some progress, Fire contends.

While he won’t name names, the Krafts have begun quiet talks with a number of potential tenants, Fire confirmed.

The aim is to nail down an anchor tenant and pave the way for the start of construction.

When that happens – and given how dogged and savvy the Krafts are, you can bet it eventually will – the potential project is of a scale to be truly transformative.

At up to 1.6 million square feet, it would be big enough to accommodate a corporate headquarters or a major research complex, Fire said. Tucked into that would be 150,000 square feet of retail – designed for a big box store.

That’s enough space to fill the Hancock Tower – with a major department store tacked on.

It’s not hard to see the kind of dramatic impact it could have on the traditionally sleepy 495 South market – not to mention the Boston to Providence corridor.

Residential Rumblings

Moreover, it’s a logical progression from the more than $800 million the Krafts have already pumped into their Foxborough holdings with Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place.

In fact, there is some synergy at work here, with Fire and other Kraft Group executives pitching the amenities of Patriot Place to potential office and research tenants.

It’s a powerful selling point. Route 128, for all its prominence, is a pretty dull place when it comes to restaurants and retail shops.

“[Potential tenants] love the amenities we have already built with Patriot Place,” Fire said. “When you are looking at a greenfield site in the suburbs, they don’t have those amenities.”

“We feel like we have already done a lot of the heavy lifting,” he added.

In keeping with the growing business theme, the new Marriott Renaissance near Gillette is also now looking to expand, with plans to add another 100 rooms to accommodate a surge in business travelers.

Still, maybe the most intriguing idea the Krafts are weighing for their Foxborough holdings has nothing to do with offices or more hotel rooms. Instead, it involves weaving a permanent residential community into the Route 1 sports/entertainment and retail megaplex.

Dying for more details? So am I.

But the idea is so far down the line – or so Fire insists – that he couldn’t provide any details of what kind of housing, or where it would go. He did acknowledge there are surely some die-hard Pats fans who would just love to live next to the stadium.

Here’s my suggestion – build a condo or apartment high-rise at Patriot Place that is tall enough to give the best-paying customers views of the field below at Gillette Stadium.

And the name? Well, that’s obvious – how about “The Brady?”