A dormant piece of land on the Westside could finally be seeing action, this time without apartments. The Ardent Cos filed a permit to begin land work at 1299 Northside Drive, the 12.5-acre site next door to the IKEA in Atlantic Station that was originally slated by Fuqua Development as its Northside & 17th project. Plans at this point are sketchy, and permits don't reveal many details other than it's expected to be mixed-use.

But sources familiar with the area tell us Ardent purchased the property (originally owned by the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority and at one time eyed by Amtrak as a site to replace its Peachtree Street station) and is partnering with Fuqua Development with the intent to develop a mixed-use project focused on retail and office and not multifamily. At least initially.

In 2014, prolific Atlanta developer Jeff Fuqua had proposed a residential/retail mixed-use project (here) on the site that was going to include apartments, single-family houses, retail and restaurants. But Atlanta's apartment market has boomed since then, with thousands of new units underway. Investors instead are seeing more opportunity with an office/retail focus, sources say. Zoning on the site does allow for the developers to eventually build multifamily there.