Church:

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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.

In 1922, land was purchased where the current church building sits. The Rev. Joshua Grogan headed the church at the time, but years later, he baptized Taylor when she was 9. The reverend was her cousin.

“I remember him telling me to close my eyes, to hold my breath, that ‘I’ll take care of you,’” Taylor said.

Grogan and Taylor recalled segregated movie theaters. The Roswell theater was off limits, so Taylor went to the one in Marietta, but upstairs. The bottom floor was reserved for Whites only.

“I don’t think they ever cleaned upstairs,” Taylor said. “You would step on popcorn boxes and sticky soda on the floor.”

Grogan went to the theater in Alpharetta, also confined to the upstairs space. He worked as a cleaner at the

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.

Roswell theater, but he couldn’t attend a show.

“It never dawned on me,” Grogan said. “That’s just the way life was.”

Taylor and Grogan also spoke about their time attending Bailey Johnson, a school once named the Alpharetta Colored School.

Grogan attended for three months and said that his 1965 graduating class was the largest ever at 14 students.

Black fellowship

DeNiro spoke about Grove Way Community Center, which Taylor said was a haven for Black people to have a good time and fellowship in a safe place. Grogan had his 16th birthday party there.

But Grogan’s “most important thing” was the Josh Gibson Baseball League, later named the Roswell

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

Flames, then the Southern Flames. The Black baseball league was organized by Grogan’s uncle, Charles Grogan, and two other men, Alonzo Allen and Estee Strickland. Games were held on Woodstock Road.

Grogan joined the team at age 15.

“That was the thing I loved the most — that Negro league,” Grogan said.

Taylor also remembered going to the games. Her dad was a baseball fanatic.

“It was such a joy to see him and his brothers and other Black people get together and have fun,” Taylor said. “The kids could watch and run around and eat the good food from the concessions … It was just the love for the game and for the people.”

Throughout the ’70s, Roswell remained a small, Southern town with little diversity, DeNiro said.

Young Black adults moved out of town to find housing and employment.

In 1971, Taylor and her new husband had a hard time finding housing, despite a fair housing law that should have gone into effect years before. While White people were told there were vacancies, Black people were told a different story, she said.

“A lot of the Black people that grew up in Roswell and wanted to stay in Roswell moved to Atlanta, College Park, DeKalb County, Cobb County because we could not get housing in Roswell,” Taylor said.

The dynamic changed in the ’80s and ’90s, DeNiro said, when there was an influx of northern Black families.

By 2000, the city’s historically Black neighborhoods had been threatened by development, DeNiro said, showing side-by-side photos of Webb Street. The picture from 2022 was drastically different.

Grogan and Taylor grew up on Webb Street, only feet away from one another.

“Growing up on Webb Street was fun because you knew everybody on the street,” Taylor said. “Everybody looked out for each other.” 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.