How do you serve 3,500 people a hot, delicious meal – all at the same time? The Cobb Galleria Centre is the expert!

The Night of Knights Dinner of the Georgia Poultry Federation has been held at the Centre every year since the facility opened in 1994. The event involves almost every person on staff at the Centre, including banquets, housekeeping, stewarding, engineering, set-up, catering, event services, engineering, accounting and sales and marketing. The catering team served 3,500 pieces of chicken Florentine, 1,000 pounds of garlic-mashed potatoes and 1,000 pounds of vegetable blend at the event on May 20. The stewarding team washed 18,180 plates, 7,272 forks, 3,636 spoons and knives and 7,272 glasses – just to name a few.

From intimate, VIP events for 10 to our largest dinner of the year in the Night of Knights gala, the Cobb Galleria Centre can do it all!

After 12 years, the Cobb Galleria Centre looks almost like new. This is no accident. The Centre has invested over the years in maintenance and improvements to the facility in order to make your experience here first class.

In 2006, the Centre concentrated on making sure you are comfortable in your meeting space by keeping the heating and air conditioning systems up-to-date and replacing thermostats in many rooms. Other capital improvement projects included the purchasing new stairs, risers and guardrails for staging; installing a wireless network throughout the facility; replacing all the wallpaper in the exhibit halls; renovating the bathrooms in the ballroom pre-function area and renovating the roof.

The Centre staff strives to ensure that your experience is exceeded in every way, including the appearance of the facility. To help ensure the Centre reaches this goal, a staff person has been hired who is dedicated to painting the building on an ongoing basis. In addition, the installation of more signage on the campus has made it easier for visitors to find their way.

Take a look around the next time you’re at Cobb Galleria Centre!

Topping Out
This audience didn’t need the soon-to-come plush seats, state-of-the-art acoustics or rich décor to appreciate the wonder that is the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. A festive topping out ceremony revealing the scale of the landmark project and the rapid progress of construction was exciting enough.

More than 200 guests attended the May 19th event celebrating that the project had reached its maximum height and that most of the building’s structural work had been completed. Unfinished but all gussied up for the occasion, the multi-purpose complex exuded star quality.

“As you can see, this is going to be a magnificent facility. It’s going to make outstanding contributions to the arts and cultural life of the Atlanta region,” proclaimed Michele Swann, General Manager and CEO of the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority.

Music was provided by The Atlanta Opera, which will become the Centre’s first resident company. Honoring a topping out tradition, guests scrawled their signatures on one of the project’s final steel beams ready for hoisting. Guests also toured the Centre’s centerpiece John A. Williams Theatre.

The Atlanta Opera
Beginning with its 2007-2008 season, The Atlanta Opera will move its performances from midtown Atlanta to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, distinguishing The Atlanta Opera as the first company to take residence at the Centre.

The Atlanta Opera representatives heralded the relocation’s potential to help the company grow artistically as well as offer patrons a more intimate opera experience. Said Dennis Hanthorn, General Director of The Atlanta Opera: “We now enter a whole new era for this company, and it couldn’t be more exciting.”

New Managing Director
Michael S. Taormina, a 30-year veteran of operating major performing arts facilities, has assumed the responsibilities of Managing Director of the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (please see related story below).

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, a $145 million project, is the first major performing arts facility built in metro Atlanta in four decades. Located at Akers Mill Road and Cobb Galleria Parkway, adjacent to Interstate 75 in northwest Atlanta, Cobb Energy Centre will be a premier venue for concerts, Broadway shows, ballet, education and family shows, opera, corporate meetings and events. The facility will include the 2,750-seat John A. Williams Theatre, 10,000-square-foot ballroom, a courtyard, terrace, 1,000 parking spaces and full-service food and beverage capabilities.

Projected opening is in fall 2007. For more information, visit www.cobbenergycentre.com.

The Cumberland Community Improvement District (CID) is in the process of implementing the first streetscape improvement projects designed to create a more pedestrian oriented live, work, play environment in the Cumberland Galleria area. These projects were identified in the Blueprint Cumberland Strategic Plan and will involve infrastructure investments valued at $8.85 million in 2006-2007. Projects will be concentrated in the area around the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

I-285/Cobb Parkway Interchange Beautification: In order to enhance the visual impact into the Cumberland Galleria District the interchange at Cobb Parkway and I-285 will be dramatically improved with landscaping, lighting, enhanced signage and intersection improvements. This will create an attractive “gateway” into Cobb County’s premier business district from I-285.

Cobb Galleria Parkway: The first major step toward creating a pedestrian friendly environment in the Cumberland Galleria area will be represented by the Cobb Galleria Parkway Streetscape Improvement Project. This $2.1 million project will include the installation of sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, intersection and multi-use trail improvements throughout the area.

Akers Mill Road: Similar streetscape improvements will be implemented along the entire length of Akers Mill Road from its intersection with Cumberland Boulevard east to I-75. This project will cost approximately $4 million and is scheduled to begin construction in 2006.

Cumberland Boulevard: Other improvement projects will take place along the recently completed relocation of Cumberland Boulevard from Cobb Galleria Parkway to Cobb Parkway. This project will cost approximately $1 million and will begin in late 2006.

Cobb Parkway Streetscape Enhancement – Phase I: The streetscape improvements to Cobb Parkway from Circle 75 Parkway south to Akers Mill Road will cost approximately $2.5 million. This project will begin in the summer of 2007 and be completed in the second quarter of 2008.

Cumberland Mall is serving up a delicious treat certain to tempt the palates of area diners with the much-anticipated announcement of five marquee restaurants. Featured in the mall’s new lifestyle streetscape, scheduled to open in November, will be national favorites: The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s Little Italy, and P.F. Chang’s, alongside the popular Stoney River Legendary Steaks and the savory Ted’s Montana Grill.

“We are pleased to announce these leading restaurants and offer a stellar array of quality dining options to the hundreds of thousands of people who live and work in this area, as well as the visitors to the Cobb Galleria Centre and patrons of the highly anticipated Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre,” said Daniel Pascale, vice president of development for General Growth Properties, Inc., owner of the mall. “These restaurants are top-notch, and we couldn’t be more excited about the line-up.”

Directed by General Growth Properties, Cumberland Mall is nearing the final stages of a multi-million transformation to better serve the needs of its growing, affluent trade area. The five restaurants along with specialty retailers will be showcased in the 77,000-square-foot lifestyle streetscape expansion, which features an open-air plaza, complete with fountains and outdoor seating. Cumberland Mall’s new design also includes a complete renovation of the mall’s interior.

The Cobb Galleria Centre was transformed into old Hollywood in March as it hosted and sponsored the Allie Awards, an annual event for members of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and National Association of Catering Executives (NACE).

Throughout the year, staff and management of the Cobb Galleria Centre support many community initiatives through participation and sponsorships.

Some of the Centre’s many sponsorships include the U.S. 10K Classic; the March of Dimes WalkAmerica; dinner fundraisers for the Cobb Chamber, the Cobb Symphony Orchestra, the Center for Family Resources and the American Heart Association and golf tournament sponsorships for the Cobb Chamber, the American Cancer Society and the Marriott Charity.

Staff also participated in the 2006 Cobb Chamber of Commerce New Member Campaign and helped the Chamber achieve its fundraising goal.

”We are more than just a convention or meeting facility, we truly are part of the community,” said Michele Swann, General Manager and CEO of the Cobb Galleria Centre. “We have a wonderfully giving staff with various interests outside the workplace, and we encourage everyone to get involved and to actively support community projects. We try to set the example by being a good corporate neighbor, because that’s part of who we are.”

Michael S. Taormina, a 30-year veteran of operating major performing arts facilities, has assumed the responsibilities of Managing Director of the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to help Cobb Energy Centre realize its incredible potential,” Taormina said, “and I look forward to meeting the Atlanta arts community.”

Taormina, who began work June 19th, will identify, coordinate and manage all promotions and artistic programming for the Centre as well as oversee, direct and manage physical and operation aspects of the building.

“Cobb Energy Centre will be a major player in hosting events of international and national importance, as well as present the very best of Atlanta’s unique and diverse offerings in arts and entertainment,” he said.

“We’re very fortunate to have someone of Michael’s caliber directing the Cobb Energy Center project,” said Michele Swann, General Manager and CEO of the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority.

Taormina is former General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas. His experience also includes directing business development for the ETM Entertainment Network in New York. He managed the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, in Pittsburgh, Pa., the New Orleans Cultural Center and the New Orleans Theatre of the Performing Arts.

Equally extensive is Taormina’s work with community and professional organizations. He served the Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art and the Vira Heinz Endowment, both in Pittsburgh. He worked with Bering Omega Community Services, a Houston HIV service organization. A three-term board member of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM), Taormina is incoming Vice Chair of the IAAM Foundation.

Cobb Energy Centre is projected to open in the fall of 2007.

In its 10th year at the Cobb Galleria Centre, the North American Shoe & Accessory market will feature the latest in footwear styles, accessories and handbags from manufacturers when it returns August 19-21.

Held twice a year at the Cobb Galleria Centre and the Renaissance Waverly Hotel, the trade show is managed by the Southeastern Shoe Travelers Association (SESTA). The market features more than 1,500 lines ranging from salon to branded business including women’s, men’s, athletic, children’s and accessories. Retailers come to Cobb Galleria Centre to meet with the vendors and buy the lines that will make them successful in their markets for the fall and spring buying seasons.

According to Laura Conwell-O’Brien, executive director of SESTA, the show has grown more than 50 percent since moving to the Cobb Galleria Centre. It recently has been named the 10th largest shoe and accessory show in the world.

“We choose to be at the Cobb Galleria Centre because of its easy access for both our exhibitors and attendees, the complimentary parking and the ease of being in Cobb,” Conwell-O’Brien said.