Eagles Nest Church plans new facility

he hopes to have a general vision for the property in three months. In the next year and a half, he said there should be some major changes.

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. —Eagles Nest Church in Roswell is moving forward with a multi-use development plan after purchasing the vacant Kohl’s lot on Holcomb Bridge Road for $13 million in December.

The 15.5-acre site was once home to Kohl’s, a Rite-Aid, Petco and Moe’s – all now shuttered. The Kohl’s lot has been vacant since 2016.

Details of the development are private for now, but Lee Jenkins, the founder and Senior Pastor of Eagles Nest Church said

Jenkins said they’re trying to do something “unique” for a church. Many churches use their property for religious services and daycares and leave them empty the rest of the time.

“I always thought that was a poor use of such a valuable asset,” said Jenkins, who has experience working in the financial sector.

That experience, he said, helped him focus on “return on asset” for the church property and spurred him to explore a multi-use development, rather than a traditional space.

Since its creation in 2012, Eagles Nest

Church has bounced around temporary homes for its services. The church started with 20 people, but as its membership has grown to almost 3,000 people, so has the need for a permanent location.

“We were vigorously looking for a permanent facility, but we could not find a place zoned for us,” Jenkins said.

Traditional church buildings were too expensive and not conducive to multi-use development.

Jenkins wanted “a destination spot that could spur economic and social activity.” It was essential to Jenkins that the property would be in East Roswell, where he has lived for 20 years.

City Councilman and economic development liaison Peter Vanstrom said he’s excited to have Jenkins develop the property.

“It seems like he’s planning something exciting, something destination oriented,” Vanstrom said.

Vanstrom has not seen plans for the property yet because the project is still in early development, but he looks forward to working with the pastor.

“We needed something positive to happen on this side of Roswell because we have seen many major projects over here fail,” Jenkins said, referencing the closed SuperTarget, Taco Mac and Kohl’s as examples.

Jenkins said many residents want more development and economic activity in the area.

“We have been extremely disappointed with the failures of those businesses and the lack of choices that we have as a consumer,” Jenkins said. “I would like to see that change.”

East Roswell is seeing some spark of life recently with a $101 million luxury apartment and townhome development taking over the former SuperTarget, which closed six years ago. The project began construction in June 2022 and is expected to be completed in late 2024.

Vanstrom said the development on shuttered businesses must be done carefully.

“What’s important is the vacancies be filled with something progressive and positive for the city,” Vanstrom said.

Jenkins said he had been eyeing the old Kohl’s property ever since it closed seven years ago. The lot is a mile away from his home.

“When Kohl’s closed down, I immediately identified that property as our promised land,” Jenkins said.

The church was still relatively new at the time and could not afford the pricey property, so Jenkins looked for a partner to help fund and develop the site.

In 2020, he found a partner in developer Competitive Social Venture. The group planned to open a pickleball sports and recreation facility called Pickle and Social. Eagles Nest would develop an event center on the property as well.

The pickleball developers backed out of the property in March 2022 after they deemed the property “too cost-prohibitive,” and Jenkins had to start over.

“If we got another opportunity to purchase this property we would seize it,” Jenkins said.

The opportunity came last year, when the church found new partners. Jenkins cannot divulge who the partners are but called them “real estate experts.”

With the new partners on board, Jenkins said he hopes to create the “way of the future” with Eagles Nest Church. The details are still private, but the church is dedicated to a multi-use development. The property will likely include an auditorium or event center facility for church services.

The planned auditorium development will likely seat somewhere between 750 and 1,000 people to encourage “hybrid,” online and in-person attendance, he said.

Many of the Eagles Nest Church members attend entirely online, and with almost 3,000 members Jenkins said the services will continue to be hybrid.

Meanwhile, Eagles Nest Church meets at the auditorium in Centennial High School, right across the street from the Kohl’s site. Jenkins wanted to be close to the future development to get his membership used to the area.

Eagles Nest rents the auditorium from Fulton County Schools for a fee, and the church has invested more than $150,000 in upgrading the space, including improvements to the audio, video and lighting equipment. But, the auditorium still is not big enough for the church. It seats about 450 people, so Eagles Nest holds two services. Soon, the church may have to hold three services to accommodate the large membership.

The tight fit at Centennial creates urgency for the development, but Jenkins said the church must be patient.

“Things are going to change, not overnight, but things are going to change,” Jenkins said.