Kennesaw State University and organizers of a program that teaches Georgians to develop their own businesses will break ground Tuesday on a 30,000 square foot enterprise center down the road from campus.

The new center will house a huge commercial kitchen, offices for incubator businesses and will be green. Sponsors are seeking LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification for sustainable building design.

Patricia Harris, the director of the nonprofit Edge Connection program, said the new building will help everyone from rural farmers looking to can their goods for the market to out-of-work business execs looking to create new careers.

The program has been housed at the Kennesaw State College of Business since its founding in 1998.

"We help people who've lost everything. We have people who are homeless; people had big fancy homes and now they have nothing. They are so desperate to use their creativity," Harris said.

Folks who have gone through the training have opened lawn care business, day care centers and a host of other businesses. The low cost classes are open to anyone who applies. With the economy in a downward spiral, Harris says, she expects more and more clients to come in for training.

The new center will open in 2009.