After original idea for Lankford Events Center shelved, years later grant funding helping to bring back project

The long-awaited facility on South Main Street is now back on track as the City of Cedartown announced they plan to start the process of creating the new Lankford Corner at The Silver Comet facility before 2024 comes to a close.

In order to finally bring a project long in the waiting to fruition, a grant for $750,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission has been awarded to the City of Cedartown to help with the costs.

This announcement comes nearly six years after the original concept had to be put on hold when an expensive bid for construction came back. Grant funding help now might make the project a come to fruition.

With a capacity of 300+ people planned, and an open concept floor plan with roll up doors to allow for a combined indoor and outdoor space for use in all seasons, the goal of the new Lankford Corner at The Silver Comet is to bring a focal point for development around the South Main Street corridor.

Donated several years back, the property was cleared and ready for construction, but instead sat idle for the past six years for the most part. It has been used at the home of the Cedartown Farmers Market for the past couple of years.

The city expects the grant funding to cover a significant portion of what final construction costs will be for the new facility, but a final tally for the project isn’t available yet.

Cedartown City Manager Edward Guzman reported that the preliminary steps have been taken in getting together a concept and getting access to grant funding for the project, but first they have to put together a design.

A presentation of the final artwork and design for the new Lankford Corner at the Silver Comet will presented in an upcoming work session in the next several months, Guzman added. He said the next step of the process will be to sit down with Rome-based CEVIAN Design Lab to figure out what the design for the new facility will look like.

The announcement made on Wednesday brings back a project that was meant originally to be the Lankford Event Center, but was shelved in 2016.

The project has been on hold for a number since 2016, after the land was donated to the city and plans had been at the time to build the Lankford Event Center. However, when bids came back for construction costs, the $2.4 million bid was well above the budget the city had set aside at the time. It went out for re-bid, came back down to $1.96 million, which was still over what was feasible for the City of Cedartown to afford at the time. Commissioners voted down the bid in December 2016.

Material costs – especially the price of steel and brick – was the main driving factor at the time to shelve the project until prices came down.

“The former design was a brick building and a different concept,” Guzman said. “We’re going with a whole new design that will be appropriate for our goals to promote the south end of Main Street and provide opportunities for the community to enjoy the space.”

Cedartown’s Main Street corridor has undergone significant changes in the past decade from the building of Holloway Park and the Streetscape project, to multiple businesses coming and going throughout the years along with filmmakers who have used downtown as a set piece for movies and television alike.

The focus of that has mostly been Main Street from East Avenue down to East and West Ware streets, where the tracks cutoff past and present development patterns in business.

Here’s the full release from the city posted on August 31:

The City of Cedartown has been selected to receive a $750,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The grant money will be used to construct Lankford Corner at The Silver Comet – a thoughtfully designed, large-capacity indoor and outdoor event venue.

The building will be located on land that was donated by the late Jim and Jean Lankford, lifelong community champions and supporters of Downtown Cedartown. The land is situated across from the Cedartown Depot on South Main Street and runs parallel to The Silver Comet Trail.

“Lankford Corner at The Silver Comet is the centerpiece of the City of Cedartown’s effort to revitalize the southern section of Downtown Cedartown,” explained City Manager Edward Guzman. “This project will usher in a new era of daily activity for the southside of our city.”

Lankford Corner will foster economic growth through the generation of income, encouragement of downtown occupancy and will increase walkability in the downtown corridor. The facility will bridge the gap between the City’s downtown district and the scenic and well-traveled Silver Comet Trail. Lankford Corner will also serve as the home of the future Cedartown Farmer’s Market.

Programming for the event center will include moving existing events and festivals to the campus, allowing these already established events to grow. Business development classes and workshops will be held at the facility, as well as corporate gatherings, civic meetings and the venue will serve as a staging area for national and statewide athletic events that promote use of the Silver Comet Trail.

With the capability of housing 300+ guests, Lankford Corner will boast large roll-up doors, creating a seamless transition from indoor to outdoor. The facility itself will carry a large footprint, however the entire Lankford Corner concept will encompass the entire 1-acre downtown location. A catering kitchen, reception area and restrooms are part of the overall design. Food truck parking, public parking and intentional and inviting rest areas are features of the outdoor area.

“I am thrilled that the City of Cedartown will be able to use this grant money for such a great project that will positively impact not only our downtown, but provide a space for the entire community to come together for special events,” said Cedartown City Commission Chair Andrew Carter. “This project will completely transform a blighted, vacant parcel in the heart of downtown, and at the same time will leverage two of the community’s greatest local assets – Historic Downtown Cedartown and The Silver Comet Trail.”

Design aspects are being led by Rome-based CEVIAN Design Lab. The anticipated completion date is late 2024.

“It was definitely a 100-percent team effort on this grant, from the early beginnings to approval,” Guzman said. “I would like to thank City staff, the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and Governor Brian Kemp. We’re excited to see what this project has in store for our community.”