Annual event celebrates CIDs and their leaders

The Council for Quality Growth’s 15th Annual Community Improvement District (CID) Recognition Event on Nov. 12 was more than an awards presentation event. It was a celebration of the success of CIDs across the metro Atlanta area since the concept was introduced approximately 35 years ago, according to Michael Paris, president and CEO of the Council for Quality Growth, who added, “CIDs have not only been a proven economic catalyst for the communities they serve but they bring a higher quality of life to those communities.”

Community improvement districts are a mechanism for funding a wide variety of public amenities that make a business district more attractive. They may include road construction and maintenance, parks, signage and beautification. The improvements are funded by a special tax on non-residential property, levied by the CID administrative body.

Each year, the Council for Quality Growth “uniquely convenes the 30 and counting community improvement districts in our region to recognize the work they do year-round to enhance the quality of life here across metro Atlanta and to support newly established CIDs as they become activated across the state,” states the council’s announcement of the event.

The setting for this year’s event, which Paris called “the most beautiful room in Atlanta,” was the facility in Doraville’s Assembly Studios Atlanta called The Jewel Box. With its floor to ceiling glass windows and living-room-like furniture groupings, The Jewel Box looks out on the facility described on Assembly Studios’ website as “the city’s newest and most expansive studio complex.”

More than 200 members of the council, business and CID leaders, local public officials, and other industry professionals from across the metro Atlanta region gathered in The Jewel Box to celebrate the CIDs in the Atlanta area, including three at least partly in DeKalb County.

“The council’s one-of-a-kind CID recognition event annually highlights the work that our CIDs are doing all year to advance our region’s greatest economic centers and strengthen the unique character area of the business communities they serve,” states Council for Quality Growth’s announcement.

The highlight of the event, presented by Georgia Power and Pond & Company, was the presentation of awards to “carefully nominated and selected CID leaders that have greatly impacted the region.”

The John Williams Leadership Award, named for the man who introduced the CID concept in the area, recognizes volunteers “who have played an instrumental role in championing CIDs around the metro Atlanta region through their vision, leadership, and dedication.”

The 2024 recipient of the John Williams CID Leadership Award is Dan Buyers, a partner at McWhirter Realty. Buyers has served on the board Town Center CID since 2012 as both the county appointee and the vice chair. “His impact can be seen throughout the metro region through commercial and residential developments, as well as his civic and philanthropic endeavors,” according to the council. Previous recipients are Gov. Roy Barnes, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Tad Leithead, Kerry Armstrong, Bob Voyles, Mason Zimmerman, David Allman, John Shern, and Natalie Tyler-Martin.

The CID Professional Excellence Award is given annually “to a CID executive director, staff member, or contractor recognizing an individual’s commitment to professional excellence through leadership in successfully investing in critical transportation infrastructure and quality of life improvement projects to enhance the district’s economic vitality.”

The 2024 recipient of the CID Professional Excellence Award is Joe Allen, executive director of Gwinnett Place CID. “Allen played a key role in the creation of the Gwinnett Place CID in 2006 and has served as executive director since. He is a proactive CID leader, committed to the Gwinnett community and advancing a shared vision for an internationally diverse, livable urban center,” council announcement states.

In 2020, Gerald McDowell received the inaugural Professional Excellence Award, followed by Ann Hanlon in 2021, Emory Morsberger in 2022 and Jim Durrett in 2023.