It has been an empty lot for many years as the city has been through delays due to cost, then the pandemic on a project that has been a long time coming for Cedartown.

The lot at the corner of South Main Street and West Ware Street will soon begin the transformation to Lankford Corner, with work starting to get underway in the coming days to clear away the grass and get ready for construction.

An official groundbreaking ceremony is set to be held later this month, but work is starting on the space that’ll sometime next year be the new home to an events center facility in downtown Cedartown.

The facility is being designed in such a way that it can be utilized as an indoor-outdoor space to accommodate up to 300 guests at an event at a time. Along with the building, Lankford Corner will also create new parking for downtown and additional opportunities for utilizing the Silver Comet Trail.

Construction equipment and fencing should be arriving in the next few days and setup, and the opening round of site prep work should be underway starting on Monday, per city officials.

In 2022, the city announced plans for Lankford Corner along with a $750,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to help cover construction costs. Nearly a decade has passed since the city originally announced their plans for the donated property, but was shelved after construction costs came back much higher than expected.

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.

Lankford Corner – along with in-the-near future parking lot improvements and other developments – is hoped to continue to attract local residents and visitors from out of town to enjoy the Main Street corridor for shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities.