ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Century Farms Development is more than 300 acres of property zoned for retail, office, and entertainment located along Interstate 24 in southeast Davidson County.

Community Health Systems opened a six-story facility on the site in 2017, as IKEA also announced it will construct its new store there with an opening planned for 2020.

The area will be centered around a renovated I-24 Hickory Hollow Parkway interchange. Work is set to begin in 2018.

The development is part of the change that Metro Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell has seen in Antioch over the years.

Dowell watched Antioch transform from a farming community to a retail hotspot. She witnessed the closing of Starwood Amphitheatre and the downfall of the Hickory Hollow Mall as businesses packed up and moved out.

“When people see empty buildings and empty real estate, it does impact your outlook and how you feel about an area,” Councilwoman Dowell said.

In the last six years though, the councilwoman said about a dozen big companies have moved to Antioch. New stores and shops have also popped up all over.

Century Farms is only part of the change. According to Dowell, Eagle View Elementary is set to open in July 2018. The following month, the North American headquarters for car parts distributor LKQ will also begin operations.

More restaurants and eateries are in the works, as well. Slim and Husky’s is expecting a March opening at the location on Hickory Hollow that once housed Applebees. Bojangles and Taco Johns are also expected to launch franchises in Antioch in the coming year, along with two full-service hotels.

“This community was built around retail and it was built around restaurants and built around being a destination area,” Dowell said.

“This community could easily evolve into a mini downtown and be the next urban center where you have the high rises and the condos and the entertainment district like a Broadway, but we have to decide is that where we want to go, or do we want to preserve a little bit of that bedroom suburban community?”

Dowell said those questions could be answered sooner rather than later as construction continues.