TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Market Square off Thomasville and Timberlane changed hands four months ago, and tenants say information about their future has been scarce.
Stringing a tennis racket takes time and precision. Shaw From, the owner of Shaw's Athletics, knows that firsthand. And just like a racket, he expects Market Square to come together carefully.
"They have told us that as of the end of January, first of February, that it'd be about six months before anything is really moved," Shaw said. "So, you're looking at July, approximately."
Market Square was bought in January 2016 by Dallas-based Leon Capital Group for $12 million. Since then, developers have visited the site a few times, but tenants we talked to say not much has been shared.
"Rumors have been unbelievable," Shaw said. "I've never experienced rumors like this."
Plans for the 15-acre property have not been finalized, but tenants have been told at least two buildings will be remodeled. Those businesses will be relocated while work is being done.
Renderings submitted to the city's Growth Management Department in March show off two-story buildings, more greenery, and an open air feel.
"I think the shopping center needs renovation, and that will attract a lot of attention," Shaw said.
But while the center may get attention, some tenants hope others notice them, too.
Armie Corker has been a vendor at the farmers market since 1979.
She travels from Grady County, Georgia, to set up shop but soon, she says, she'll have to move.
"It was just my second home, seemed like," Corker said. "And it'd been a very good investment for me during those years."
Corker says under new management, developers notified her that she had to go.
So, she's heading to the north side of town this summer, but she worries about her customers.
"Hopefully, they will follow us -- some of them, if not all," Corker said. "And I'm hoping to make new customers."
For the past several months, a number of businesses here have either relocated or closed -- some making that decision even before the sale was final.
Some business owners we talked to said they're worried that trend will continue, and they'll disappear from Market Square, but others say they're not going to make a move until the developers make theirs.
"We might move within the shopping center, but we're not going away," Shaw said. "So, you might take an extra 30 seconds in about six or eight months to find us in here, but we're not going away."
Shaw says he looks forward to the change, but like anything, it may take longer than expected.
WTXL has reached out several times to Leon Capital Group, but no representatives have been available yet for comment. We will continue to follow up with developments here.
Next week, the "Building Tallahassee" series wraps up with a look at current construction projects.
