In the middle of a once sleepy LaVista Road strip, a 1,200-seat concert hall is suddenly giving Tucker a nightlife storyline it has not had in years. The Londzell Performing Arts Theatre quietly flipped on the lights on New Year’s Eve, unveiling VIP skyboxes, lounges, an on-site chef and rooms set aside for community programs. Owner and guitarist Londzell Hardy, 67, says his goal is simple but ambitious, to make regular soul, R&B, comedy and community events a staple in a part of DeKalb County that has not had a mid-sized concert venue nearby.
From abandoned gym to full-fledged stage
Hardy found his stage inside a big-box relic. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the theater occupies a 30,000-square-foot former Bally Total Fitness at 3993 LaVista Road and officially opened as the Londzell Performing Arts Theatre on Dec. 31, 2025. The paper reports the once cavernous gym now seats about 1,200 and that Hardy carved second-floor skyboxes and multiple VIP areas out of old racquetball courts and an indoor track.
Big acts and early sellouts
WSB-TV reported that the venue’s New Year’s Eve debut came with a near-sellout bill featuring Con Funk Shun and Zapp, the kind of throwback lineup that tells you exactly who Hardy is courting first. The theater then packed the house again for a Valentine’s Day show headlined by R&B singer Stokley, this time a full sellout.
The venue’s own event listings show a busy slate of soul and R&B nights along with partnerships such as an upcoming “Majic After Dark” show with Urban One stations. Ticket details and schedules are posted on the theater’s website, the Londzell Performing Arts Theatre.
The numbers behind the build
Hardy will not say exactly how much he has spent, but he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the project ran “in the millions.” That money went into 11 new AC units, marble flooring and chandeliers, filling in a former swimming pool to create a VIP lounge and retiling bathrooms that once served gym-goers instead of concert crowds.
According to the same report, Hardy signed a lease with a 10-year term and a five-year option for less than $10,000 a month. He also said he does not have any outside financial partners, meaning the risk, and any eventual reward, lands squarely on him.
Tucker’s bet on economic and cultural returns
City leaders appear more than happy to see someone else take that gamble. Officials joined a ribbon-cutting on Feb. 4 and framed the theater as a potential anchor for local nightlife, youth programming and workforce development, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
A December preview of the project noted the city had not yet issued a certificate of occupancy at that point, underscoring how quickly the space was turned from dormant gym to functioning performance hall over the winter, Rough Draft Atlanta reported.
Hardy describes the theater as a personal venture and says he plans to experiment with different genres to see whether Tucker can truly sustain a mid-sized, upscale concert hall. For tickets and the full show calendar, visit the Londzell Performing Arts Theatre website.
