Cobb commissioners spent 2012 trying to lure new businesses to declining areas with road improvements, tax incentives and renewed community involvement. In 2013, they’ll see if those efforts are paying off.
Two of the county’s high profile targets — Canton Road in northeast Cobb and the south Cobb area near Six Flags — are progressing with mixed success. On Canton Road, business traffic is picking up, with a new Wal-mart Neighborhood Market, car wash and furniture store slated to open next year.
In south Cobb, an area that has struggled to get traction on redevelopment efforts, plans have slowed again as county leaders wait for a new commissioner to take office and set priorities.
The county is doing what it can to spur new development, but ultimately the economy will play a big part in the success of revitalization efforts, said Dana Johnson, Cobb’s planning division manager.
“Different parts of the county are in different stages of growth and recovery,” he said. “The county does not control private investment. We can only encourage and set the stage, but it takes a private individual with private money to see real change.”
The struggling six-mile corridor of Canton Road, which runs from the Marietta city limits to the Cherokee line, is home to 10 of 38 sites the county identified as blighted or vacant. But officials say they’ve had success attracting new businesses because of road improvements, a good location, tax incentives and an active business organization.
In recent years, Cobb has spent about $4 million on street and landscape improvements. Tax breaks are available to revitalize older properties. Area Commissioner Joann Birrell and a mix of community stakeholders plan to start a non-profit in 2013, which would make grants available to companies looking to locate in the area.
“The more businesses that come here and pay taxes, and whose customers pay sales tax, we’ll all benefit from that,” Birrell said.
Robby Stewart built a business buying beat up car washes and shining them up like new, like his latest venture, the Wash Barn, on Canton Road. He finds that once his renovations are complete, other businesses follow.
“The first person takes a leap of faith – which is usually me – and hopefully others come after,” he said. “I stepped out on a limb and I hope the community will support me. The best way for a community to revitalize itself is to support local business.”
The future of redevelopment efforts in south Cobb is less clear. The county has earmarked $30 million money from the most recent penny sales tax to fund improvements for parks and recreational facilities across south Cobb. The area near Six Flags Over Georgia has a high concentration of aging apartments resulting in increasing crime and vacancies. This summer, officials floated the idea of setting up a “land bank,” that could use taxpayer money to buy and demolished or redevelop some of those apartments, but the idea hasn’t made much progress.
County officials say there’s been a lot of studies over the years about how to improve South Cobb, but little action. They are exploring new funding opportunities in 2013 that could pay for some improvements, if approved by commissioners. Area Commissioner Lisa Cupid said she wants focus on basic code enforcement, then find out how to move redevelopment plans forward.
“I am still at a loss as to why our projects don’t seem to move forward as quickly as other projects,” she said. “I don’t think the area lacks a vision for what could occur here, but somehow our vision is not being carried through.”
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