Quirky Atlanta neighborhood resists new shopping center

ATLANTA - A neighborhood in Atlanta that prides itself on being different is chafing at the news that a shopping center is one the way. <br> <br> Little Five Points is a small district of tattoo parlors, bars and vintage clothing stores just east of downtown. <br> <br> It&#39;s also the future home of a big mixed-use development with at least four national chains sprawling across 42 nearby acres. <br> <br> The project has ruffled more than a few feathers in a neighborhood that likes to think of itself as miles away from suburbia. <br> <br> Coffee shop manager Beth Moon says national retail stores will ruin the neighborhood. <br> <br> Up to 500 residences could be built if Atlanta rezones the tract to allow housing on land now zoned for commercial and industrial uses. <br> <br> A polished new complex is exactly what some Little Five Points long-timers don&#39;t want. The neighborhood was blighted for decades before young artists and quirky shops brought the district back to life. <br> <br> But Nick Gold of Atlanta Gas Light, the former owner of the tract, says the project will fit in nicely with the rest of Little Five Points.