08/20/2026
More than a dozen golden shovels sliced through the Georgia red clay Thursday afternoon as local leaders officially broke ground on the Corners of Cedartown retail development.
Today’s ceremony marked the beginning of construction on one of the City of Cedartown’s most significant economic development projects in recent years.
Located at the intersection of the Cedartown Bypass and Davis Road, the approximately 110,000-square-foot grocery-anchored development will include Publix, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and additional retail space. And while this afternoon’s groundbreaking celebrated the launch of construction, the project’s long path from conceptual vision to shovel in the ground has been years in the making.
“This groundbreaking represents much more than construction,” said Cedartown City Manager Edward Guzman. “It represents the result of a tremendous amount of work, collaboration and persistence by the City, local and state leaders, our development partners, and the many people who helped move this project forward. To say we are proud is an understatement when it comes to witnessing this project move. We can’t wait to watch this lot go from empty to serving as a landmark economic driver for our community here in Cedartown and throughout the county.”
Bringing the project to today’s official groundbreaking required the City to establish a new economic development tool, navigate multiple levels of government, and work through a complex financing process designed to support the infrastructure and development costs associated with the venture.
In November 2025 via referendum, Cedartown voters authorized the City to exercise redevelopment powers under Georgia’s Redevelopment Powers Law. The referendum allows the City to create Tax Allocation Districts, or TADs, and issue tax allocation bonds. That approval gave the City the authority necessary to establish a TAD and pursue a financing structure for redevelopment projects.
The City subsequently established its first TAD in connection with the Corners of Cedartown development.
“The establishment of the TAD deserves a tip of the hat to our residents, City staff, and project partners,” remarked City Commission Chair Sam Branch. “Without their votes of support and hard work, this development would not be happening. This is a project of great significance for a City that I love, with far-reaching positive community and regional economic impacts. Today, we are thankful for the voters’ confidence in us and in this project, and grateful for the support from the Polk School District Board of Education, the Cedartown Development Authority and Polk County Commissioner David McElwee. We also want recognize State Representative Trey Kelley and State Senator Jason Anavitarte for their support in getting the referendum passed, along with their assistance in working with state agencies such as GDOT to ensure this project’s success," Commissioner Branch said.
"We’re here celebrating a huge win for Cedartown and our county residents because of teamwork. This is for our residents, our local economy, and the future of our City.”
Tyler Morris, a principal with Willow Capital, also spoke during the groundbreaking ceremony. “Everything that’s happened and is happening today is the direct result of the leadership in this community, starting with the city commissioners, and the city manager. There’s excellent leadership in place here, that’s good as, if not better than almost any other community we’ve worked in. The school board really showed a lot of support and vision in seeing this through, and the Cedartown Development Authority coming in during this process to make it all happen,” he stated. “We could not be more excited about this.”
Local government entities and partners participating in the TAD include the City of Cedartown Board of Commissioners, the Polk School District Board of Education, and the Cedartown Development Authority.
Open-market bonds for the project went live in July and $9.9 million in bonds were sold. Publix has entered into a lease agreement for at least 20 years, while 10-year lease agreements for Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less are also in place. All agreements include options to extend the lease terms.
