Despite rumors circulating in online neighborhood forums, a seasoned Atlanta developer says it has no intentions of changing or impacting a mosque that’s been operated by metro Atlanta’s largest and oldest Islamic community for more than 30 years.

Perennial Properties, an Atlanta-based mixed-use developer with a growing presence in the East Lake area, recently closed on the purchase of land parcels where drive-thru Pitch 'n Putt Package Store has been doing business for well over a decade.

The 2349 Glenwood Avenue store is located just southwest of East Lake Golf Club.

Jay McGinnity, Perennial Properties vice president, tells Urbanize Atlanta the liquor store is expected to close in coming months and that new uses for the properties will be sought.

McGinnity clarified in an email that, in spite of rumors, Perennial hasn’t purchased any of Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam’s land holdings, which include the mosque and attached retail strip still owned by the Masjid.

“The Masjid has no intentions of relocating, and Perennial has no immediate plans for redevelopment of the newly acquired liquor store corner lot,” McGinnity wrote in an email.  

The drive-thru liquor store's location on Glenwood Avenue in relation to the mosque, with East Lake Golf Club depicted at top right. Google Maps

Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam was established in the metro area in 1956 and has been operating on nearby Fayetteville Road since the early 1970s.

In 1990, members bought an abandoned shopping strip at 560 Fayetteville Road—located just south of the drive-thru liquor store—and converted the largest retail structure into a mosque with four towers and a pointed dome in the middle, according to a bio.

Broader look at the mosque's shopping center near East Lake Golf Club in recent years. Google Maps

Perennial considers itself a long-term investor in East Lake and western DeKalb County neighborhoods, and McGinnity said any redevelopment plans for the liquor store’s current corner “will be made in partnership with the Atlanta Masjid and through active engagement with the community.”

In the meantime, McGinnity says Perennial is seeking potential tenants for the Pitch ‘N Putt spaces, which the company expects will become available at the end of the year.

Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam is located in a former retail store converted by the Islamic community to a mosque three decades ago. Google Maps

A few blocks away on Glenwood Avenue, Perennial has developed a complex next to Publix called Ella with 230 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail, and office space.

The developer is also planning a rather large mixed-use community on a vacant field just south of the mosque, colloquially known as the Bag Factory site.  

That nearly 12-acre proposal would include 237 apartments in two four-story buildings, 44 rental townhomes, and two street-level retail slots with about 5,000 square feet of space.

• East Lake news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)