SoCa Reborn

By Al Levine / STAFF

When Roswell Mayor Jere Wood drove his wife’s scooter – he calls it the yellow bee – down Oak Street last Thursday he was driving back to the future.

The Shops of Oak Street, better known as SoCA [which is better known as South of Canton Street], was the city’s first strip shopping center.

“I remember they used to have trampolines out by the corner,” Wood said. “I don’t know what else they had. I always wanted to jump on those trampolines but my father had other ideas and I never did.”

Roswell Mayor Jere Wood, left, explains his ribbon cutting technique with store owner Joe Mediate at the Shops of Oak Street. (Al Levine  / STAFF)

Now Wood and the tenants of SoCA are jumping for joy that the once-derelict development is thriving with new tenants and the street is scheduled for renovation.

Soon, old-time street lights will illuminate brick sidewalks.

“We’ve revitalized the shopping center and the city is backing us up by revitalizing the street,” Ralph Mills, the developer, said. “We’ve come full circle.”

The occasion was a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the shopping center’s recent expansion. Anchor tenants have increased their storefronts and new retailers have jumped on board. Shops include KooKoo Bear Kids, La Bella Vie, Michael Gallery and an expanded Oak Street Café.