Atlanta legacy businesses fight redevelopment push

For the last few years, downtown Atlanta, especially south downtown, has undergone significant change. Much of it unveiled this summer during the World Cup, but the changes raised new questions about the future of old Atlanta. Fox 5's Kevin Stewart spent the day downtown talking with longtime businesses and shoppers. Kevin? Yeah, it sure did spend some time. You know, change always happens. Neighborhoods change, they decline, they improve, But in this case, we're talking about a case of old school businesses, the legacy businesses, familiar businesses. Will they survive all the change? Downtown Atlanta, especially south downtown, has a whole new look, a new vibe. New shops, often where ones did not exist. It is new Atlanta. Latrice Curtis has come here from McDonough for a decade for a piece of old Atlanta, Sunrise Fragrance, which has been around more than 25 years. Well, he was on the corner and then they were pushing him to go to another place, space, and he went to another space. Sunrise has had to move three times in the past four years since a new landlord mapped out a new revitalized vision for this 16 block historic city center. It's nice to have new new businesses come in, but you still have to support the ones that have been loyal to the community. Shop owner Aziz Pala says there have been challenges, but if they could make it through the old challenges down here... It was dead, of course, and it was dominantly, you know, crime-infested. He thinks they'll be okay hanging on to old customers and bringing in new ones. He firmly believes his legacy business and clients match well with the new scene. If we can infuse the old and the new together, I think we'll have a better vision for this neighborhood. There's no reason to say, hey, we can disregard these customers who's already been here for the last 30 years. For a long time, I was less than homeless. Freedman's Shoes have colorfully stood the test of time downtown for 97 years. You see a lot more police around. And it sits. It's not going anywhere. Keep it safe. Find places for people to park. Keep it safe. Because that's what killed Underground back in the day. They will come back if you give them a reason. Curtis wants to be optimistic, but a Harlem, New York transplant has seen this before. Gentrification, the good that can't come with bad. It was hard for businesses to stay in the community that they had been in for so many years and hard for residents to stay there. And so you think he's going to make it? Oh, yeah. He's very resilient. And she says she's going to make sure to do her part. We're live in South downtown. Kevin Stewart, Fox 5 News. Wow, changes happening fast. Kevin, thanks.