ATLANTA — A fixture in Atlanta’s nightlife industry is shutting down. The plan is to transform The Cheetah Lounge in Midtown into a skyscraper.
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The strip club is nearly half a century old. It’s still popular, and about 300 people work there, according to the business’s website.
So, news of it shutting down is grabbing a lot of attention.
“Oh, it’s popular man,” Rico Mod told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco. “It’s one of the best, food, everything, entertainment. We go there to enjoy ourselves.”
It’s been on Spring St. in Midtown since 1977.
Atlanta City Council Member Michael Julian Bond said it’s one of the last to survive in the growing city.
“I was a kid in the 70s, and that whole area, 10th St., W. Peachtree, Spring St., that used to be all or part of Atlanta’s red light district,” said Bond. “My mother would tell us to keep our eyes down and not look side to side as we passed some of the things along the way.”
Over the years, he said Georgia Tech has been quietly acquiring property along Spring St.
“They’re going to develop more student housing,” said Bond.
He said the Cheetah was one of the last to sell.
Now, a company called Core Spaces said it will turn the spot into a high-rise apartment with retail on the ground floor.
“I think it’s a positive move,” said Bond.
Georgia Tech students walking past Friday agreed.
“More people are getting accepted each year, the school is getting bigger and I think it’s good to have, like, multiple options for housing off campus,” said Lucy Blood.
Customers are pointed out the loss that comes with the change.
“It’s going to hurt a lot of people. People need their jobs,” said Rico Mod.
Channel 2 is waiting to hear back from owners and operators of Cheetah to find out when it will close. Core Spaces has not said when construction will start but said the project will be complete in 2029.
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