A major intown retail project near Little Five Points is moving forward and has signed a raft of well-known tenants, its developer says.

Jeff Fuqua, president of Sembler Co.'s development division, says eight retailers have committed to space at Edgewood Retail District, located on 42 acres on Moreland Avenue south of Little Five Points.

They are Lowe's Home Improvement, Target, Kroger, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross Dress For Less, Cost Plus World Market and Petsmart, he said.

"Target, Lowe's and Kroger signed on almost immediately," Fuqua said. "That lineup drew the rest." He still wants to sign another anchor and 60 smaller shops and restaurants.

Just over a year in the making, Edgewood Retail District got final zoning approval from the Atlanta City Council on April 21. Sembler plans to start construction in late summer, with a March 2005 opening.

The project is expected to have both retail and residential units, with plans for 350 townhouses, apartments, lofts and other units. Columbia Residential has signed on to develop everything except the lofts in the former shoe factory building.

The development's closeness to intown neighborhoods, including Inman Park, Edgewood, Candler Park, Little Five Points and Kirkwood, will be a prime selling point.

Retailers have scaled back development plans because markets are overflowing with choices. Shoppers are also spending less. Some retail chains are facing financial troubles and closing stores.

Still, Edgewood Retail District has lured big names.

Fuqua said the success of his company's Midtown Place development on Ponce de Leon Avenue has helped, adding that the recently opened Whole Foods is already No. 1 in that chain's Southeast division.

"The area is undeveloped," Fuqua said. "And there are lots and lots of people."

Close to 131,000 people live within three miles of Edgewood Retail District, with an average household income of $63,234, according to Sembler. More than 322,000 people live within five miles and have an average household income of $59,070.

Few national stores exist within three miles of the site.

"We showed the site to a retailer who salivated over the project," said broker Ruth Coan with the Shopping Center Group. "But the tenant could not be accommodated because there's no room at the inn."

The other major intown development seeking tenants in the subdued retail economy is Atlantic Station, the massive Midtown project adjacent to the Downtown Connector. It is scheduled to open this fall but has struggled to land tenants.

Atlantic Station has signed Dillard's, a department store, and a 16-screen United Artists theater in its planned 800,000 square feet of retail space. Officials have said several other leases are near completion. Atlantic Station wants to attract restaurants and entertainment retail, plus specialty shops such as Williams-Sonoma and Banana Republic and a grocery chain.

Fuqua downplays competition between the Edgewood and Atlantic Station projects for tenants. "Atlantic Station is a different kind of project," he said.

Fuqua's company is deeply involved in intown development. Midtown Place opened in 2000, followed by Publix on Piedmont shopping center in 2001. Edgewood Retail District is the largest development yet. His company is also redeveloping Lindbergh Plaza.