An Atlanta-based developer has confirmed it is under contract with the city to purchase the old Health Department site.

The Gunthert Co., a commercial real estate development, management and consulting firm, currently is in the initial phases of investigating the site, said Gerard Gunthert, president of the 5-year-old company.

“We’re just getting going with the city on that and doing our initial due diligence,” Gunthert said.

The company will pay about $1.5 million for the 1.3-acre site, at 1217 N. Main St., if the contract goes through, he said. The land has been vacant since summer 2009, when the health department moved into a new shared building with the Social Services department on Hall Avenue.

The Gunthert Co. lists nearly 100 completed Walgreens projects on its website, mostly in Florida and Georgia but also spanning other states and Puerto Rico. The company also has completed a number of Publix shopping centers in Florida and Georgia, and several Wendy’s and Taco Bell restaurants in those states.

Gunthert said the company is looking into a sit-down concept restaurant for the site, saying it is “too big and too expensive” for a fast-food restaurant.

“It’s a great site with high traffic,” he added.