Long-time businesses being forced out of metro Atlanta business corridor – WSB-TV Channel 2

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Many companies on certainly one of Metro Atlanta’s most beloved city squares say they’re being compelled out.

A few of these companies have been there for many years, however now their time on Marietta Sq. may very well be coming to an finish.

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“Devastated,” mentioned barber Len Thompson, who says he was informed his enterprise should go away by April 1. “We had constructed our entire model across the sq.. The considered having to maneuver off the sq. was horrifying really.”

Thompson says his enterprise, Lenny’s Hair Salon, will probably discover a new dwelling elsewhere on the sq., however he says dozens of different companies might want to discover new houses too.

“A few of these individuals have been in there 20 or 30 years, and so they’re being affected and having to depart their house,” mentioned Thompson.

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All of it started early this yr when developer Bridger Properties purchased a number of distinguished buildings alongside Church Road, together with a number of storefronts and the historic warehouses-turned-office-buildings referred to as Marietta Station.

Then Thompson says Bridger informed him and different companies within the buildings they would want to go.

“There was no choice. April 1was onerous line,” mentioned Thompson.

We tracked down Bridger co-founder Merritt Lancaster. He informed us in a press release: “As a small enterprise ourselves, we perceive the significance of a supportive group. We proceed to work with new and current tenants at Marietta Station to create a novel and vibrant expertise.”

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However Thompson says it’s been a irritating expertise, as he and the opposite enterprise house owners hope their companies can survive elsewhere.

“It could be an excellent factor for the town years down the highway. It simply gained’t be an excellent factor for me or my workers,” mentioned Thompson.

Bridger says they’ll make bulletins quickly about their plans for the buildings, however tenants say Bridger plans to fill the buildings with new eating places.

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