Long-time businesses being forced out of metro Atlanta business corridor

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Many companies on one in all 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. could possibly be coming to an finish.

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

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

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

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

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

“There was no choice. April 1was exhausting line,” stated 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 neighborhood. We proceed to work with new and current tenants at Marietta Station to create a singular and vibrant expertise.”

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

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