Spartanburg, South Carolina, gym owner tries to keep the city from taking over his building

INVESTIGATING THE GYM IN SPARTANBURG HAS BEEN AROUND FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS, AND THE GYM OWNER SAYS THAT HE WAS GIVEN JUST ROUGHLY THREE MONTHS TO RELOCATE. HE, ALONG WITH MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, ARE NOW FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THAT REQUEST. OUR TANIQUA PENNIX JOINS US LIVE IN SPARTANBURG WITH THE LATEST ON THIS STORY. TANIQUA. WELL, GOOD EVENING RASHAD. I’M HERE AT NAUTILUS FITNESS CENTER AND THEY SAY THEY’RE THE OLDEST INDEPENDENTLY OWNED FITNESS CENTER IN THE STATE, AND THEY DON’T WANT TO RELOCATE. FITNESS CENTER HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE 1977. THE OWNER, JOHN LANGFORD, SAYS IN 1988, AT THE REQUEST OF THE CITY, HE MOVED HIS BUSINESS TO DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG ON SOUTH CHURCH STREET. SPARTANBURG WAS A GHOST TOWN. THEY ASKED ME TO COME HERE BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING DOWNTOWN HAD A RIBBON CUTTING, A BIG CELEBRATION OUT FRONT. WE’RE HAPPY I WAS HERE NOW AS THE CITY IS GROWING, LANGFORD SAYS THE CITY WANTS HIM TO LEAVE. IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE THEY’RE WANTING BUSINESS TO COME HERE, BUT SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN HERE FOR ALL THESE YEARS, THAT THEY WANT TO JUST TOSS US ASIDE, THEY’RE ALMOST PAYING PEOPLE. I WON’T SAY THAT. MAYBE BIG BUSINESS THEY ARE TO COME TO SPARTANBURG, BUT SOMEONE HAS BEEN IN SPARTANBURG FOR 47 YEARS SERVING THE COMMUNITY. THEY DON’T WANT TO PAY US ENOUGH TO LEAVE. TWO YEARS AGO, LANGFORD SAYS HE WAS INFORMED BY THE CITY THAT THEY WANTED HIS PROPERTY TO BUILD CITY HALL AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATION OFFICES, THEN, ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, HE SAYS HE GOT A LETTER FROM CITY OFFICIALS SAYING HE NEEDED TO MOVE HIS BUSINESS. BY THE END OF OCTOBER THIS YEAR, BUT WAS NOT OFFERED ANY RELOCATION FUNDS. WE JUST FEEL THAT WE ARE NOT BEING TREATED FAIRLY. I LOVE SPARTANBURG, IT’S JUST THAT THE MEMBERS HERE, WE’RE LIKE FAMILY. WE’RE NOT LIKE A BIG BOX GYM. PEOPLE THAT COME HERE KNOW EVERYONE AND IT’S A FAMILY. MY WIFE WORKS HERE. MY YOUNGER SON, ANDREW, WORKS HERE. SO WE ARE A FAMILY BUSINESS, LANGFORD SAID. HE’S HIRED AN ATTORNEY AND HE’S RECEIVED A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY, BUT HE’S STILL SHOCKED. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, CITY OFFICIALS WOULD TREAT HIM THIS WAY. REALLY, IF THEY CAN DO THIS TO A BUSINESS THAT’S BEEN HERE FOR 47 YEARS SERVING THIS COMMUNITY, THEY CAN DO IT. WHAT BUSINESS IS NEXT? AND TANIQUA, OF COURSE, WE ARE ALL ABOUT BALANCE. WE HEARD THE GYM OWNERS SIDE OF THE STORY. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE CITY IS SAYING IN RESPONSE? YES, RASHAD. SO LANGFORD TELLS ME HE WAS AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING LAST NIGHT AND THE CITY COUNCIL WAS SET ON THAT OCTOBER 31ST DEADLINE. SO I REACHED OUT TO THE CITY TODAY TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I STILL HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE REPORTING LI