Celebrating 25 Years and Innovating to Create a Vibrant Future for the Town Center Community

Over two decades Town Center CID has built a proud legacy of advancing projects that matter, leading strategically to help make Town Center Community a vibrant place to grow a business, raise a family, shop and work, earn a degree, and enjoy the outdoors. As we mark our 25^th anniversary, we are focusing our considerable expertise and passion on building coalitions and leading with a shared vision for the next chapter of our evolving community.

The Skip Spann Connector was the first lighted bridge in Cobb County, incorporated pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and provided a new connection over I-75 that reduced traffic congestion on Chastain Road by 19%.

Town Center CID has innovated throughout our history to meet the needs of our community, helping deliver transformational projects that have made significant transportation, safety, and traffic improvements, like the Skip Spann Connector, Big Shanty Connector and widening South Barrett Reliever and Noonday Creek Trail. We have helped more parents and students get home for dinner, reduced travel time for our district’s workforce, and expanded access to parks and trails. 

As community infrastructure and placemaking leaders, we have often led first:

·      the first CID in Georgia to establish a bikeshare

·      completing Cobb County’s first lighted bridge

·      the first CID in Cobb County to create a non-profit placemaking partner

·      recently curating and installing the first bridge mural in Cobb County

Town Center CID established the first Georgia CID-sponsored bikeshare program in 2015, enjoying continued success and ridership growth today.

Town Center CID is now thinking about how we continue to best impact our changing community. 

Since our inception, the district has seen the growth of very diverse assets. What used to be a bourgeoning suburban retail area is now home to a variety of economic engines and sectors – manufacturing, industrial, freight and logistics, fin-tech, an international airport, several global and North American corporate headquarters, in addition to the traditional retail and commerce. Town Center Community is also home to Kennesaw State University, the state’s second-largest university with more than 43,000 students. To remain relevant and continue to push forward projects that serve an evolving community like Town Center, we must think differently about our projects and use each project to create a sense of place in Town Center, address access and multi-mobility, walkability, smart redevelopment, and community engagement. 

The public will begin seeing this shift in all our projects. Per our 2022 Master Plan update, we are prioritizing over 60 projects and initiatives in placemaking, trails, smart technology, and transportation/multimodal enhancements. By focusing on four priorities, we are innovating to meet the future needs of our changing community. With our non-profit placemaking partner, we are engaging our community to create a shared vision for a more prosperous future of Town Center that includes unique public spaces, public art, expanded and connected trail systems, smart technologies and electric vehicle infrastructure, and forward-thinking transportation and roadway improvements. 

Through projects like the Noonday Creek Trail bridge mural at the I-75 overpass, Town Center CID creates a sense of place and a more welcoming experience for trail users and area residents.

As we help Town Center meet its next season of growth, we will continue to advance our vision with coordinated projects that transform our ability to connect and access our parks and trails, commerce and retail, restaurants, and residential communities. We are excited to build on our 25-year legacy to continue innovating to serve our community best.