ARC’s Livable Centers Initiative Awards $80,000 to Kennesaw

The City of Kennesaw is receiving an $80,000 grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) for supplemental studies to help implement their LCI through additional studies and zoning changes.

ARC awarded $800,000 in its latest round of grants to 11 metro Atlanta communities including Kennesaw. The LCI grants will help these communities create new plans for quality growth and help develop innovative policies that support more vibrant, connected communities. Once their studies and plans are complete, these communities will be eligible for additional LCI funding for transportation projects needed to implement their plans.

Since its inception in 1999, LCI has assisted 113 communities with approximately $15 million in planning grants to devise strategies that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by better connecting homes, shops and offices. Another $173 million has gone to help recipients build transportation projects that help them accomplish their goals.

The LCI program is funded with federal transportation dollars. The grants fund 80 percent of the study, with the recipient making a 20 percent match. So altogether, there will be a $1 million LCI investment in these 11 communities, $800,000 from the LCI program and $200,000 in local match.

LCI communities cover only five percent of the region’s land area but contain seven percent of its residential development, 24 percent of its commercial development and 38 percent of its office development.

“Communities are eager to revitalize their town centers and underutilized properties to create places that foster a vibrant neighborhood feel and environment,” said Doug Hooker, ARC Executive Director, in a city of Kennesaw press relesae. “LCI grants have helped communities re-imagine what they can be, and then helped them make those plans a reality.”

by city of Kennesaw