A former Kohl’s department store that stood empty along Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, Georgia, for nearly a decade has been turned into an 80,000-square-foot church and multi-use event venue after a $28 million redevelopment project. Eagles Nest Church, a non-denominational congregation that operated for more than 14 years without a permanent building, bought the 15-acre retail site in December 2022 for $13 million. The total investment has since grown to about $28 million to strip the old big-box store and rebuild its interior as a modern campus for worship services and community events.According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and details from a press release distributed through EIN Presswire, the new facility has an auditorium with seating for more than 1,000 people, dedicated areas for youth education and flexible spaces for different uses. From September 2026, the venue will operate seven days a week and will be available for weddings, graduations, corporate training sessions, conferences and musical performances.
Empty retail store gets a new purpose
The large building at 2342 Holcomb Bridge Road originally served local shoppers as a Kohl’s store before closing permanently in 2016. For almost 10 years, the 80,000-square-foot building remained empty at the Centennial Village shopping centre. At times, the overgrown parking lot was used by lorry drivers who illegally parked their semi-trailers there. The site’s future changed when Eagles Nest Church bought the 15-acre property from New York-based real estate company Rothenberg-Rosenfield through its entity ENA Group LLC. Local outlet Atlanta Daily World reported that the purchase became the first step in a larger 16-acre master plan called The Beacon at East Roswell. The project is being developed with Atlanta real estate firm Regent Partners. The church plans to officially open the new facility on 6 September 2026 with a two-service grand opening called “The CrossOver”. Attendees have been encouraged to wear white to mark the occasion.
Pastor brings unusual path to ministry
Eagles Nest Church was founded in 2012 by Senior Pastor Lee Jenkins. A Roswell resident for nearly 25 years, Jenkins also ran for Mayor of Roswell in 2017. His career before ministry was unusual. Jenkins played college football at the University of Tennessee before being drafted by the New York Giants in the NFL. He later spent 25 years on Wall Street as a wealth manager and investment vice-president at companies including Morgan Stanley and Raymond James. Jenkins also managed Grammy Award-winning gospel artists Kirk Franklin and The Winans. In 2009, he wrote a personal finance book published by Moody Publishers. Speaking about the completion of the new facility in a release distributed through EIN Presswire, Jenkins said the project had turned an abandoned commercial property into a place for the community.“This project is about taking something that was sitting empty and bringing it back to life with purpose,” Jenkins said. “For nearly a decade, this building sat vacant. Today, it stands as a place of worship, community, and connection.” Jenkins said having a permanent building would also give the church more opportunities to serve the area. “For years, Eagles Nest Church was a church without walls,” Jenkins added. “Now, having a permanent home gives us a greater platform to serve people, strengthen families, and impact our city.”
Church moves from temporary spaces to permanent home
The opening of the Holcomb Bridge Road facility ends more than a decade of moving between temporary locations. Atlanta Daily World records show that the church began in 2012, when a small founding group met in a ballroom at a DoubleTree hotel. As the congregation grew, services moved to different locations across North Fulton County. Sunday services were later held in a commercial office park, an indoor entertainment centre at Andretti Karting and Games, and eventually the auditorium and gymnasium at nearby Centennial High School. The purchase of the former Kohl’s property gives the church its own worship space while also giving it control of the surrounding commercial land. Future stages of the project, being developed with Regent Partners, are expected to bring Class A retail shops, restaurants, family-focused businesses and a dedicated childcare facility to the wider shopping centre.
Former Kohl’s becomes an example of adaptive reuse
The conversion of the old Kohl’s store reflects a wider trend in American suburbs, where communities and private organisations are finding new uses for large retail buildings left empty as shopping habits change. Turning a big-box store into a church and community facility comes with both challenges and advantages. Architectural plans reviewed during the municipal permit process show that contractors removed the old retail interior almost completely. Commercial display floors and dropped ceilings were replaced with acoustic materials, specialised lighting and stronger structural supports for the 1,000-seat auditorium. The large parking area, originally built to handle busy holiday shopping periods, has also been resurfaced and redesigned to serve church members and people attending events. Commercial real estate records published by Urbanize Atlanta show that the $28 million investment includes the property purchase and the full rebuilding of the structure. It is one of the largest private adaptive reuse projects in East Roswell in recent years.
New community venue and future development
The church plans to use the building for much more than Sunday services. Leaders want it to become a community hub for local businesses, non-profit organisations and residents throughout the week. The multi-use rooms and banquet halls will be available for public bookings from September 2026. Civic organisations, companies and families will be able to rent the spaces for meetings, training sessions, private events and educational workshops. With the first phase now complete, Eagles Nest Church and Regent Partners are turning to the remaining parts of the 16-acre commercial site. Environmental and site surveys are underway to prepare the nearby retail areas for future tenants. The goal is to create a wider development with shops, restaurants and other businesses surrounding the new church and community venue.
