Kennesaw just said yes to "Project Dunkin." 1,500 jobs on the table.

Good morning, Cobb.

A company Kennesaw is only calling Project Dunkin wants to build about 485,000 square feet of Class A office space on Kennesaw Due West Road, and it says it plans to open with 1,500 employees. Right now it has about 600.

According to draft minutes from the Sept. 30 meeting of the Kennesaw Development Authority, the board voted 5-0 to approve an inducement resolution for the project at 2404-06 Kennesaw Due West Rd. (Koehn made the motion, Palmer seconded, Davis was absent.)

What the draft minutes say about the project:

Now the fine print, and it matters:

We are not going to guess who Project Dunkin is. The codename is the codename until the company or the city says otherwise.

What to watch: the company's name, any Kennesaw City Council or Cobb action, and a bond validation hearing. Source: KDA Sept. 30 draft minutes / meeting page.

Brought to you by the Terence Richardson Group at Compass

September in Cobb, compared with last September, single family homes:

New construction is the soft spot: about 6.5 months of supply, so builder incentives are likely if you are shopping new.

Next to metro Atlanta, Cobb is still tighter: pricier, faster moving, and with more buyers per listing than the metro average.

City by city: Acworth and Marietta are holding steady. Smyrna, Mableton and Powder Springs pulled back the most on buyer activity. Smyrna still has the highest median in Cobb, and Austell is the most affordable. Mableton is a small sample, so read it loosely.

Source: Georgia MLS data, single family homes, September 2026 vs September 2025.

(Next-week pointers only.)

Correction: Chalktoberfest and Fish with Your Commish, both in our Oct 8 issue, were canceled. Chalktoberfest was called off for Hurricane Isaias and returns in 2027.

Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival - Fri Oct 16, 6-10 p.m., and Sat Oct 17, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Downtown Kennesaw and Depot Park. Chayce Beckham headlines Saturday at 8 p.m., with Tigirlily Gold at 6. Expanded Kids Zone with a petting zoo and a kids market (Fri 6-10, Sat 11-5). BBQ tasting tickets for Saturday noon-3. Free parking downtown and at Adams Park, plus a free shuttle from Swift-Cantrell Park. kennesaw-ga.gov

Marietta HarvestFest + Scarecrows in the Square - Sat Oct 17, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Glover Park. Free. Handmade market, Halloween kids festival, Touch-A-Truck 9 a.m.-2 p.m., pie eating at 11:30 (ages 6-12) and noon (13 and up), costume contest at 2. marietta.com/harvestfest

Cumberland Art Festival - Sat-Sun Oct 17-18, Galleria on the Park. The first one ever, with 100+ artists. travelcobb.org

Cobb Water "Trick or Treatment" sPOOky Tour - Fri Oct 16 and Sat Oct 17, 7-8:30 p.m., R.L. Sutton Water Reclamation Facility, Smyrna. Costumes, candy, and a real look at where your flush goes. Registration required; tours start at your registered time, so arrive 15 minutes early for waivers. cobbcounty.gov

Powder Springs Trunk-or-Treat Fall Festival - Sat Oct 17, starting at 10 a.m., Thurman Springs Park. Costumes on, bags out. travelcobb.org

Strand Ole Opry: We Will Always Love Dolly - Sat Oct 17 at 8 p.m. and Sun Oct 18 at 3 p.m., Strand Theatre on the Marietta Square. A Strand Ole Opry tribute to Dolly's songbook. travelcobb.org

Stone Mountain Highland Games - Sat-Sun Oct 17-18, Stone Mountain Park (Friday events are at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast). Pipe bands, Highland dancing, Scottish athletics and clan tents. Gate tickets only now: $25 per adult, kids 12 and under free with an adult. Park entry is a separate charge. Rain or shine, no pets. About 35 miles from Marietta Square, so plan on 50 minutes or more with traffic. smhg.org

Glover Park Kitchen is open at 72 Atlanta St., Marietta, right across from Glover Park Brewery (same owners). Chef Lance Hagan, who spent 20+ years at places like Pano's & Paul's and Table 1280, is cooking Southern with a twist: Buford Highway collards with gochujang and turkey burnt ends, Korean Kentucky carrots, the Hagan Pot Roast (beer-braised short rib), Charleston shrimp and grits, and Springer Mountain fried chicken. Sides come family style for 2-3, which is exactly how you feed a table with kids. Grab a Fireside Orchard (brown-butter maple bourbon) and sit out on the covered, climate-controlled veranda, the lawn, or the indoor-outdoor bar.

Hours: Tue-Wed 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Thu until 10, Fri-Sat until 11, Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mon. gloverparkkitchen.com / marietta.com

(Agendas = proposed. Draft minutes = draft minutes. Council video = council voted. Minutes = decided.)

Cobb commissioners approved the county's microtransit package 3-2 at their Sept. 22 meeting, according to draft minutes of that meeting, with Commissioners Gambrill and Birrell opposed to the microtransit items. Per the draft minutes, the package includes an Acworth/Kennesaw pilot of up to $4.8 million ($3.84 million state, $960,000 local match), $3,193,884 for two years of Via service in Acworth and Kennesaw, and a South Cobb Via renewal and expansion of up to $1,573,800 through Sept. 22, 2027. The board still has to approve those draft minutes. Draft minutes, in the Oct. 13 BOC packet

Cobb commissioners had the county's 2027 legislative agenda on their Tuesday, Oct. 13 consent agenda. As proposed, it asks the state to ban state incentives for data centers, opposes limits on Flock and other license-plate reader cameras, wants tougher cityhood rules (an 8-year wait after a failed referendum), and opposes revenue caps. We could not confirm the outcome by press time; treat it as proposed until minutes or the county confirm. Agenda item

Mableton City Council was set to vote Wednesday night, Oct. 14, on 76 police vehicles: 56 hybrid patrol cars and 20 electric admin vehicles, a $5.14 million lease, paid back at about $1.16 million a year for five years (about $5.8 million with interest) from the Public Safety special service district fund. We'll report the outcome. It was on the consent agenda. For context, the council appointed Dr. Anita Allen as the city's first police chief, 7-0, per Oct. 6 minutes. Agenda

At the Board of Commissioners zoning hearing Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 9 a.m., commissioners will take up Z-36: 282 apartments in two four-story buildings on 9.59 acres at 175 Ernest Barrett Pkwy, the former Mountasia site. Staff recommends approval. Same morning, Z-39 asks for 280 apartments on Lodge Road, so about 562 apartments are on the table in one sitting. Zoning packet

Reply and tell us: would 1,500 new jobs on Due West Road be a win for your family, or a traffic headache? One line. We read them.

See you Thursday.
The Cobb Insider