Celebrating a legacy of leadership and looking towards a vibrant future.
A lot can change in 25 years. Cobb long-timers may remember Town Center as an up-and-coming retail area with a new mall surrounded by emergent neighborhoods. Folks might even recall the pastures and farms pre-dating the mall. Town Center Community’s landscape looks vastly different today with a variety of economic engines amidst burgeoning single family, multi-family, and active adult communities. Today, the district still nurtures a robust retail environment but is now home to manufacturing, industrial, freight & logistics, and fin-tech companies, an international airport, and several global and North American corporate headquarters. Importantly, Town Center also is the home of Kennesaw State University with more than 43,000 students, an expanding campus, state-of-the-art facilities, championship winning athletics, and world-class academics.
Growing communities do not happen overnight. They take vision, leadership, and investment. For 25 years, Town Center Community Improvement District (Town Center CID) has led with a vision 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. Town Center CID has innovated throughout its history to meet the needs of the community, helping deliver transformational projects that have made significant transportation, safety, and traffic improvements. These advancements help more parents and students get home quicker, reduce travel time for the region’s workforce, and increase access to parks and trails.
As community infrastructure and placemaking leaders, the Town Center CID has completed numerous large-scale road projects, produced detailed corridor studies to inform smarter development, and beautified district landscaping. Large infrastructure projects include the Skip Spann Bridge, Big Shanty Connector, Noonday Creek Trail, South Barrett Reliever, Aviation Park, Bells Ferry Trailhead, and Founders Park. The CID’s non-profit placemaking partner, Town Center Alliance, has developed projects to compliment the extensive infrastructure investment such as public art and education exhibits at Aviation Park, a Chimney Swift Tower and bridge mural along Noonday Creek Trail, a bikeshare program, and community programming like Yoga in the Park.
“We have so much to celebrate in Town Center and are excited to build on our 25-year legacy of impact,” says Town Center CID Executive Director Tracy Styf. Now, we have an opportunity to focus our priorities 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 spaces, public art, expanded and connected trail systems, smart technologies and electric vehicle infrastructure, and forward-thinking transportation and roadway improvements.”
Introducing The Townies
Annual awards to celebrate and recognize the community members, leaders, and businesses that make Town Center Community the place to be.
Town Center CID is celebrating this history while looking toward a vibrant future with a 25th anniversary celebration later this year. This fall, the CID will host an Annual Meeting to celebrate the milestone; share a vision of what is to come; and recognize community leaders, developers, and businesses with the inaugural Townie Awards. The Townies will honor leaders in the community who have been a part of Town Center Community’s rich history and who have made significant contributions to Town Center’s success. Nominations for the Townies are now open through Oct. 10, 2022.
Do you know a community leader, business, developer, or resident who has made significant contributions to the Town Center Community? Visit TownCenterCID.com/Townies to complete a nomination form by Oct. 10, 2022.
Help us recognize these deserving individuals and organizations with the inaugural Townie Awards:
Community Champion — An individual or organization/business that has made significant contributions to Town Center and their community at large. Their commitment to community is evident in all they do and helps to create a Town Center Community that is a vibrant place for the future.
Commercial Champion — A commercial property owner and/or business located within the Town Center CID whose investment, relocation, or engagement in Town Center Community has made a significant impact. Their involvement helps to create a thriving Town Center Community that advances our vision of connecting access to commerce and retail, restaurants, parks and trails, and residential communities. *Nominees must be located inside the Town Center CID district boundary.
Town Center Champion — An individual or organization/business that is a Town Center Community ambassador. Through their work and involvement, they are contributing to the Town Center legacy of creating vision for a more prosperous future and their impact will be seen for generations to come.
Remembering a Change Maker: Lanie Shipp Hoover
Lanie Shipp Hoover served as Executive Director of the Town Center CID from its inception in 1997 until her retirement in 2014. During her tenure, the organization launched transformational projects, such as the Big Shanty Connector, Noonday Creek Trail, and the Skip Spann Bridge, in addition to countless studies and beautification projects.
Those who knew Lanie described her as the “epitome of elegance and Southern grace,” “hard working,” and someone who “always wanted what was best for Cobb and the community she served.” Her tireless commitment to Cobb and Town Center has positioned our organization to continue for the next 25 years.
“The foundation, created by Lanie, our founding board members, and businesses that have shaped Town Center allows us to focus our passion for building community and lead with a shared vision for its next chapter,” said Kelly Keappler, CID Board Chair. The Town Center CID will honor Lanie Shipp Hoover at a 25th anniversary celebration and will announce an exciting new initiative in her memory.
