Acworth, home to the new PTS Sports store, was recently highlighted by the Marietta Daily Journal and Mayor Tommy Allegood as the fastest growing city in Cobb County. You can read the article by Marcus E. Howard below or check it out on the mdjonline.com web site.

ACWORTH — Mayor Tommy Allegood said Acworth is Cobb County’s fastest-growing city, where new businesses are growing and enough restaurants are opening to proclaim it “the restaurant mecca of Cobb County,” during a town hall meeting Wednesday night that drew nearly 100 people at City Hall.

The latest U.S. Census showed that the city now has 21,000 residents, a 52 percent increase since 2001, Allegood said. That growth has expanded the city’s tax base and can at least be partly attributed to a 12 percent increase in jobs since November 2009. With the exception of one small increase — which was later lowered back to its previous rate — the city hasn’t raised taxes in a decade, said Allegood, who was elected mayor in 2002.

Businesses that have recently opened include Pearl Spa and Apothecary Boutique, Launch Awareness Yoga Centre and Massage Envy Spa, as well as restaurants such as J.D.’s Bar-B-Que, Creekside Tavern and Fish Thyme.

Other businesses set to open soon are Parkside Italian Kitchen, Center Street Tavern, LGE Credit Union, RaceTrac and PTS Sports in the old Theatre on Main building downtown.

“New businesses are opening every single week,” the mayor told the crowd during his presentation, after which residents met one-on-one with other officials.

Allegood highlighted redevelopment plans on more than 125 acres of land, much of it currently occupied by Logan Farm Park and Walking Trails, where the city hopes to attract new development, Allegood said.

“It’s really going to be market-driven,” Assistant City Manager Brandon Douglas said. “Whether it’s two years from now, three or five years, we just want to be positioned to be able to help facilitate from residents and developers, and say ‘look, we’re supportive of an endeavor to do what the market is going to allow.’”

Redevelopment in the area has already started taking shape.

The four-story, 108-unit Legacy senior apartment complex, a Walton Communities project, is set to open around next spring on Carruth Street, on land formerly occupied by public housing. Construction on the School Street road realignment project, funded by 2005 SPLOST money, is scheduled to begin in January.

Allegood said the city is looking to increase the density within the 125-acre redevelopment site.

“We want the type of neighborhoods and housing products there where people can be able to walk to downtown,” he said. “A lot of product is going to be geared toward our baby boomers.”

A new Acworth police station is also in the development phase. Currently, the station and jail are housed in cramped quarters on Acworth Industrial Drive. The station is set to be moved down the street into a renovated building — which used to be occupied by Acworth Cable NET — which would be connected to a newly constructed building, totaling about 18,000 square feet. The court and jail will remain in the same place.

The projected cost of the project is roughly $5.2 million and would be funded by SPLOST money, Police Chief Michael Wilkie said.

“We’re sitting on top of each other,” he said. “It’s going to meet a need.”

Allegood made a point of highlighting the city’s quality of life, which he said explains much of the reason why Acworth has become the county’s fastest growing city. He mentioned the new 72,000-square-foot, $26 million SPLOST-funded North Cobb High Freshmen Academy that just opened and a host of upcoming city events.

Those events include the last Acworth Opry show at Logan Farm Park on Saturday; the “Footloose” movie premiere at 7 p.m. Oct 13 at Acworth NCG Cinemas; the Taste of Acworth downtown on Oct. 15; the Halloween Carnival at Logan park on Oct. 22; Classic Car Cruise on Main Street at 4 p.m. Oct 29; a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 19; the Acworth Turkey Chase race downtown on Nov. 19 and the annual Christmas Celebration on Dec. 2.

The Acworth Cultural Arts Festival, scheduled for April 14 and 15, is being planned by organizers outside the city and will be heavily advertised in order to help make it a regional event, the mayor said.

“It’s going to be the first time, as a city, that we are actually going to close down Main Street for two days,” Allegood said.

“Our mission as a city has always been to make sure that we communicate and deliver the best citizen services.” Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Mayor Acworth is fastest growing city in Cobb