KENNESAW - The Town Center Area Community Improvement District discussed the future of the area in the next decade during a breakfast Wednesday morning.

Several local businesspeople, politicians and residents gathered to hear the next steps for the special community improvement district.

"We're the most balanced and unique CID in the state, as we're the only one with access to a national park, a major airport with McCollum, a major university with KSU, a large shopping mall with Town Center and several major state and federal highways intersecting. We have millions of square feet to work with, and that's pretty impressive," Chairman Mason Zimmerman said.

Like most CIDs, this group, which was created in 1997, consists of commercial property owners who have chosen to pay more in taxes to advance transportation and infrastructure within their district. They work with federal, state and county departments of transportation and partner with other CIDs on transportation improvements.

The Town Center CID is bound by Cobb Parkway to the west, Chastain Road/McCollum Parkway to the north, Bells Ferry Road to the east, and approximately a mile beyond Barrett Parkway to the south. In its 12 years, the CID has invested more than $35 million in the area.

"We find ourselves in a unique position because we have a source of revenue, no debt, cash in the bank and projects underway and in development, even in this tough economy," Zimmerman said. "We all serve in this group because we're invested in the area and want to see it thrive."

Zimmerman said that several plans are set for the future of the area, including the beautification of Interstate 75 at Barrett Parkway and other streetscapes; signage labeling the area as the Town Center district; stronger relationships with other area CIDs and the state and county transportation agencies; and, what Zimmerman calls the single biggest project the TCA CID has been involved in - the Big Shanty Connector.

"There is so much congestion on Chastain Road and Barrett Parkway, so for years we've been trying to figure out what we can do to improve that. The GDOT already had a plan for a Big Shanty Connector so we took that and morphed into one plan. It's been many years in the making, and will ultimately cost $30 million with money coming from CCID, stimulus funds, Cobb County, KSU - it's a great collaborative effort," Zimmerman said.

Dr. Wesley Wicker of Kennesaw State University also spoke at the breakfast, detailing the progress of one of the nation's fastest-growing universities and the school's ongoing collaboration with the development of the area.

"The improvements we make here in the next few years will have a huge impact on our campus," said Wicker, vice president for advancement at the school, as well as executive director of the KSU Foundation.

Wicker said the university has a $500 million economic impact on the Town Center area each year. There are 22,300 undergraduate students enrolled at KSU, and as many as 25,000 additional students taking continuing education classes. The numbers, he said, will only keep growing.